I 

9: 



i 



• 



f 



OVERLAND, INLAND, AND UPLAND. 



OVERLAND, INLAND. AND UPLAND. 



A LADY'S NOTES 



OF 



PERSONAL OBSERVATION AND ADVENTURE. 



BY 

A. U. 



WITH EIGHTEEN ILLUSTRATIONS. 




SEELEY, JACKSON, & HALLIDAY, 54, FLEET STREET, 
LONDON, MDCCCLXXIII 



The Eight of Translation is Reserved. 



CONTENTS. 



OVERLAND. 
I 

London to Suez . . . ..... 

To Marseilles with the mail. Beauties of the Medi- 
terranean. Daily Service at sea. New Year's Eve 
on board. Eailway travelling in Egypt. Sunset 
prayer. Suez. 

II 

Suez to Calcutta 

Eoutine of Eed Sea life. Aden. A funeral at sea. 
A day at the Buonavisto Orphan House. Nightly 
miseries. Madras. Native traders and jugglers. 
Saugor Island. Last Sunday on board. Approach 
to the Capital. 



INLAND. 
I 

The City oe Palaces ....... 

Kidderpore Bazaar. The Maidan and Chowringhee. 
Houses and' tanks. Drainage works. Difficulties 
with native labour. Government House and Cathe- 
dral. Conveyances and drivers. Educational 
establishments* Difficulties of language. 

II 

English Housekeeping in Calcutta . . . . 

Eents. Servants. Dustoor. Wages. Style of 
building. Native cookery. " Where ignorance is 
bliss." Jackals. Punkahs and bearers. 



VI 



CONTENTS. 



Ill 

PAGE 

Daily Liee in t the Capital 82 

Early rising. Morning employments. Evening 
drives. The Strand. 

IY 

Characteristics oe the Seasons in Calcutta ... 90 

Cold Season. Native fuel. Flowers and vege- 
tables. Picnics. Crows. Mosquitoes. Hot Season. 
Thunderstorms. Prickly heat. Fruits and flowers. 
Rainy Season — Insects in general, and in particular 
lizards, snakes, adjutants, etc. A Cyclone. 



Family Liee oe the Hindoos 118 

Early Marriages, their causes and results. Good 
and evil consequences of family dependence. 
Hindoo ladies. Child- widows. Hindrances to re- 
marriage, and lamentable consequences. 

VI 

Educational Eeeorts and Religious Dieeiculties . . 130 

Government Education, its evils and dangers. 
Ceremony of conferring degrees at the Calcutta 
University. Future life of students. Obstacles to 
religious freedom. Female influence. 

YII 

Zenana Teaching. ........ 143 

English prejudice and incredulity as to Missionary 
work. Visits to native houses and schools. A 
Burning Ghaut, Discussion with a Brahmin. Fune- 
ral ceremony. Hope for India. 

VIII 

Festivals and Festivities, Religious and Social . . 161 

Principal Hindoo Gods. Yisit to the Temple at Kali 
Ghat. Mahometan Festivals. The Mohurrum. 
Christian Anniversary. Interesting Baptisms. 
Yisit of the Duke of Edinburgh. Investiture with 
the Star of India. An " At Home " at the Bishop's 
Palace. 



CONTENTS. 



VI 1 



IX 

PAGB 

A Holiday Excursion in the Plains 186 

Difficulties of a pleasure trip in India. Sights along 
the line. A dilemma. " Eoughing it." Boxwallahs. 
Flying bugs. Visit to a temple. A day at 
Peerpahar. Mahometan legends. Linguistic 
difficulties. Visit to a Christian settlement. The 
Earn Mela. A Sunday in the country. 

UPLAND. 
I 

Madras to the Sheyaroys 218 

Advantages of Madras. Chair travelling. Mountain 
roads. Miseries of an invalid. A hill bungalow. 

II 

Mountain Ba^ebees 230 

Ferns and flowers. Visit to a farmhouse. Evening 
walk. Butterflies, birds, etc. Native burial 
ground. A day among the coffee. Dinner with a 
native planter. <£ \Vanted, a Wife." Inconveniences 
of Indian housekeeping. Pagoda Point. Altar and 
worshippers. 

Ill 

Back to the Peaixs 248 

The Descent. Fireflies. Flying foxes. Plague of 
ants. Sleeping on the house top. 

IV 

A Peeasere Trtp to a Sacred Mountain . 258 

Obstacles. Dawk travelling and bungalows. Un- 
foreseen delays. The ascent. 

V 

Picnic Lite ox Paeisxath 270 

Our party. Jain saints. Deficiencies of equip- 
ment. Jain temple, Proverbs of all nations. A 
lonely grave. A typhoon, Above the clouds. 
The return. 



Vlll CONTENTS. 

OVERLAND HOME. 



PAGE 

Calcutta to Suez 291 

Homeward-bound. An Indian Prince. Maho- 
metan ladies. Second visit to Buonavista. English 
Gentlemen. Parsee politeness. Cantonments and 
tanks at Aden. 

II 

Suez to Cairo 304 

The Xabob's farewell. Our irrepressible fellow- 
traveller. Hotel du Nil. Streets of Cairo. Museum at 
Boulac. Citadel-mosque, and Palace. Tombs of the 
Mamelukes and Pachas. Egyptian fleas. Euneral pro- 
cession. Coptic ceremonies and schools. El 
Azhar. The petrified forest. Miss Whately's 
schools. Old Cairo. Singular Greek Church. Diffi- 
culties of interpretation. Mosques of Toolocn and 
Sultan Hassan. Bazaars. 



Ill 

The Pyramids 327 

Tent Life. The Sphinx. Tombs. Inside the Great 
Pyramid 

IV 

Alexandria to Southampton 33o 

Solitary sight-seeing. The Needlte and the Pillar. 
Dragoman extortion. An unpleasant neighbour. 
Perils on the sea. Valetta. The Cathedral. Fran- 
ciscan mummies. Calpe and Abyla. Old England. 



©berktttr 



i 

LONDON TO SUEZ. 

All was over at last. The hurried weeks of preparation 
and farewells had speeded by, the Christmas Feast had 
been kept, though swelling hearts and tearful eyes were 
round the Holy Table and the home fireside, and the 
next day^s sad and silent journey was accomplished. 
The last and hardest parting was over, and the forms 
dearest on earth had faded out of sight in foggy dis- 
tance, as the steamer ploughed her dreary way across the 
channel, and left harbour and pier and the " white cliffs " 
behind. 

It was a rough and squally afternoon and mercilessly 
cold. I was far too pre-occupied to be ill, but we were 
scarcely out of harbour before the usual miseries began. 
Some young ladies who had been chattering volubly of 
Christmas gaieties made a hasty retreat to the ship^s 
side, and spoke no more ; and I was soon surrounded by 
such sights and sounds, that I could only wrap myself up, 
mentally and bodily, as close as possible, and lie on one of 
the benches, with eyes resolutely fixed upon the darken- 
ing sky and gloomy rolling sea. Soon after, the light 
on Cape Grisnez became visible, the wind ahead increased 
in fierceness, and the spray dashed over us in showers. 

1 



2 



OVERLAND. 



Going below, however, was not to be thought of, and I 
kept my ground, well fenced from cold by the huge 
Canadian wrapper of a fellow-passenger, but somewhat 
disquieted by the prevalent idea that we should miss the 
train and not reach Paris till the morning. 

However, when Boulogne was gained at last, and 
smoother water had enabled the sick and weary passen- 
gers to stumble up the companion and find their tickets, 
and struggle in dishevelled hurry through the usual crowd 
of spectators on the quay, we had the great relief of 
finding omnibuses waiting to convey us to the station, 
and even the unexpected comfort of time to get well 
warmed and enjoy a cup of coffee before the train moved 
off. 

Once in motion, with no further anxiety for the 
present, and enjoying the warm, well- cushioned carriage 
all the more from the contrast it presented to the dis- 
comforts of the previous hours, time passed rapidly 
enough in letter- writing, with brief intervals of sleep ; 
and it was scarcely a welcome change from the snug 
compartment to the large, bitterly cold hall into which 
we were all authoritatively turned on arriving at the 
capital. French railway regulations do not afford one the 
English privilege (?) of fussing about after one's luggage; 
and it was sufficiently irritating and cheerless to pace 
up and down this dismal tireless place at midnight, till I 
caught sight of a friend's face peering through the win- 
dow, and knew that my hasty note had been received, 
and that I was sure of comfortable quarters for the rest 
of the night. Moreover, his long French experience 
stood me in good stead, and the luggage was passed with 
very nominal examination. A long drive through the 
streets of Paris, a blazing fire and welcome supper below, 
and a blazing fire and still more welcome rest above, 
awaited me ; and after adding postscripts to my letters, I 



LONDON TO SUEZ. 



3 



thankfully drew the eiderdown over me, and lay watching 
the lights and shadows of the crackling logs, till sleep 
carried me back to home again. 

The morning dawned foggy and raw, and there was 
little time to see anything of the capital before the start- 
ing of the inexorable mail-train, but the first part of the 
southward route was very pleasant. The fog soon cleared 
away, and Fontainebleau especially looked very lovely in 
its winter dress. A thick hoar frost had gathered on all 
the trees, and they stood out in dazzling beauty against 
the clear blue sky ; the golden brown of the oak under- 
wood contrasting well with the deep rich tints of the 
various sorts of fir, and the feathery lightness of the 
naked birches. 

From thence to Dijon the scenery was very unin- 
teresting, and nothing was more noteworthy all the way 
than the uninhabited look of the country as compared 
with England. We passed no towns of any size, few 
villages, and none of the solitary houses or cottages that 
dot our fields so pleasantly, no passengers about the 
roads and lanes, and only here and there a few labourers 
in the bare vineyards ; indeed, except the magpies, which 
we started everywhere in twos and threes, or saw con- 
gregated in numbers on the leafless shrubs, there was 
scarcely a living creature to be seen. 

We left Dijon about half-past three, and evening soon 
closed in, with an intensity of cold rarely felt in England. 
Hot-water tins and wrappers were vain against it, the 
windows were soon thickly frozen, and the bitter air at 
every opening of the door swept in with searching force. 
We were thankful to stop at Lyons for supper, and spend 
three-quarters of an hour in a well warmed and lighted 
room, but the rest of the night was utterly miserable. 
Notwithstanding all the comforts of the carriage, the 
cold would penetrate, and the more I tried to shut out 



4 



OVEKLAND. 



thought and forget everything, the more wakeful I grew. 
Never in my life did I feel so utterly sick and wretched 
as when the sea began to be visible in the grey morning 
light as we neared Marseilles. But the stopping of the 
train was an imperative call for exertion, and as soon as 
the usual weary waiting for the luggage was over, I 
secured a conveyance and began a jolting transit through 
the steep streets of this most foreign looking port. There 
was another tedious interval while the drawbridge leading 
to the quay was opened for some boats to pass; and 
then on, past lines of noble shipping, till we reached 
one larger and handsomer than the rest, and I read 
" Mongolia " on her stern, and saw the luggage weighed, 
and stepped on board. 

It was almost the first voyage of this splendid steamer, 
and ill and weary as I was, I could not but admire her 
size, and the delicate finish everywhere visible. The 
tables in the saloon were laid for breakfast, with vases of 
flowers and pots of greenhouse plants at intervals, and 
the handsome bronze frames of the suspended lamps 
wreathed with Christmas holly and evergreens. The 
fluted partitions that form the sides of the saloon, 
dividing it from the sleeping cabins, were delicately 
painted and corniced with elaborate gilding ; handsome 
curtains hung across every doorway, and thick carpets 
covered the floors. Altogether the effect was striking 
and elegant even to sorrowful and sleepless eyes, and it 
was still more satisfactory to find myself sole occupant of 
one of the best cabins. There was just time for a hurried 
and much needed toilette before the captain took his 
place at the head of the breakfast table, and we all 
emerged to claim our seats. Sixty or seventy passen- 
gers, the majority of them gentlemen, were at table, and 
the breakfast an excellent one. I do not care to be a 
chronicler of viands, though meals are apt to become the 



LONDON TO SUEZ. 



5 



great fevents of life during a long voyage ; so I will just 
say, once for all, that whatever ground there may be for 
the general denunciation of Peninsular and Oriental fare, 
those must have been fastidious indeed, who could find 
anything to decry either as to profusion, variety, or 
quality, during that Mediterranean passage. Fish, flesh, 
and fowl in various forms, delicious bread, butter, and 
eggs, fruits and preserves, and fresh salads of every kind, 
covered the tables daily at the three chief meals. The 
only bad things were the tea and coffee, and certainly 
these were no exception to the general vileness of such 
beverages at sea. Why they should always be detestable 
it is difficult to say — certainly it is from no niggardliness 
with the material 1 — but any benevolent purser who could 
effect a reform in this particular, would be well entitled 
to the gratitude of his suffering fellow-creatures. 

Of suffering, however, no one seemed to think that 
morning. 'The vessel still lay anchored at the quay, and 
it was not till some time after breakfast that her pre- 
parations were complete. Gradually everyone found his 
way on deck, when the sun was bright and the air clear 
and pleasant; and one by one the fellow-passengers to 
whom I had introductions found me out and came with 
kind offers of service. It was no small comfort through- 
out the voyage that these introductions placed me at 
once on friendly terms with some of the best people on 
board. 

At last the loading was completed, the band stationed 
themselves and began a lively strain, and off we started. 
I had dreaded this moment from my Folkestone recol- 
lections ; but it was soon evident there was no cause for 
fear. The Gulf of " Lions," for once in a placid mood, 
was as different from the tossing Channel as the " Mon- 
golia" from the wretched little boat that had been the 
scene of so much misery. Our stately vessel moved as 



6 



OVERLAND. 



quietly and with as little effort as a swan ; no one had the 
smallest excuse for being ill, and accordingly no one 
attempted it. The sea lay like a lake, the sky was almost 
cloudless, the air cold but dry, and we coasted along 
the Gulf with quite a panorama of beauty all the way, 
a chain of white rocky islets rising one behind the 
other and one after the other out of the waves, near 
enough for us to catch all their varying effects of light 
and shade. 

After luncheon we came up on deck again, and I 
had a long and interesting conversation with one of my 
new friends. Though still a young man, he had held one 
high appointment in the Civil Service, and had returned 
to England to qualify himself for other posts by reading 
for the Bar ; and while thus occupied had. found time to 
work an enormous London district in connection with 
some society for the Relief of Destitution. He was now 
on his way out again with his wife and their beautiful 
infant ; and the apparent chance which gave me an 
introduction to them and made me a member of their 
party throughout the voyage, was by no means one of the 
least blessings of the way. 

The day wore on rapidly till the four o'clock dinner. 
Then came another promenade on deck, with the band 
playing in the twilight, then tea, and an interval of journal 
and letter writing, and I was glad to go early to my 
cabin and. make up for nights of broken rest. 

When the stewardess woke me with the early cup of 
coffee, Corsica lay before the cabin window in the dim 
morning light, and I soon roused myself, anxious to lose 
nothing of the scenery. Day broke rapidly, and I 
opened the window and stood before it, hardly able to 
turn for a moment from the exceeding beauty of the 
sight. This side of the island is abrupt and rugged, 
apparently of the same rock as the islets passed before ; 



LONDON TO SUEZ. 



7 



and there are some lofty hills. Across the breast of 
these lav a long strip of white cloud, and below the 
rocks looked cold and grey, but above it their crests just 
caught the rays of the unrisen sun, "and were flushed 
with a crimson haze that made them beautiful exceed- 
ingly. Mile after mile the island floated by with more 
than one white town nestling at its base; but by the 
time I was ready to go on deck it had passed away and 
Sardinia lay alongside, much larger, but not nearly so 
beautiful. YTe were coasting along it nearly all day, the 
weather perfect and the sea as calm as if no storm ever 
broke over it. Flocks of sea-gulls appeared at intervals, 
their white breasts glancing- in the sunshine as tkev darted 
down for food, or rose into the air; and we passed one or 
two distant sails* 

After breakfast a missionary clergyman arranged to 
have daily service in the saloon at ten o'clock, and there was 
a large attendance of passengers throughout the voyage. 
Even those who would not have cared to go to church on 
shore, were glad of the break in the monotony of the day, 
and the sound of the bell was always the signal for a 
very general abandonment of deck-chairs, and novels, and 
needlework, and even of cigars. Prayer-books and Bibles 
were ranged along the tables by the stewards, a reading- 
desk extemporised from some cushions covered with the 
Union Jack, and by the time the clergyman had donned 
his surplice a considerable congregation had generally 
assembled. There was always to me a great charm and 
appropriateness about those morning services, the daily 
gathering of a company of travellers bound for distant 
lands, and unknown trials and perils, round the throne 
of the "Eternal Lord God, Who alone spreads out the 
heavens and rules the raging of the sea;" and the 
constant prayer that we might " return in safety to 
enjoy the blessings of the land, with the fruits of our 



8 



OVEELAXD. 



labours and with a thankful remembrance of His inercies," 
must have found an echo in many a heart still bleeding 
from the wrench of recent parting. 

In every respect this Mediterranean voyage was de- 
lightful beyond all expectation. The perfect rest and 
change after weeks of trial and fatigue, the pure, invigo- 
rating air, the pleasant companions, and the novelty, and 
beauty, and interest of everything, seemed to inspire new 
life, and hours were spent every day in dehghtful 
exercise of mind and body. Every one said it was little 
less than a miracle to have such a voyage at the time of 
year, and the atmospheric effects were singularly striking 
and beautiful. 

At sunrise the next morning we were just approach- 
ing Sicilv. and ao-ain I had a vision of o-lorv never to be 
forgotten. The island lay before us, a panorama of rock 
and mountain as far as the eye could reach, and the sea 
between was truly u a sea of glass, mingled with fire." 
Eight in front of the vessel, the sun was rising in cloud- 
less splendour, melting sea and sky into one rlood of 
dazzling light, and we seemed steering straight into the 
glory. Behind us rose a grand rocky islet towering 
from the waves, and clothed from base to summit 
with a crimson haze ; while above it lay heaps of rose- 
coloured cloud glowing like fire against the still blue of 
the sky. 

About nine o^clock that evening we were summoned 
on deck to see the Jigkts of ^lalta, which we were 
rapidly nearing. The ship sent up rockets and fired a 
gun, — a startling surprise to those who were unprepared 
for the discharge. It was answered by a rocket from the 
harbour, and we steered in — the island and town rising 
before us under the full moon, almost as clearly as by 
daylight. It looked very white and fairy-like, as the 
steam was turned off and we ghded gently to the 



LONDON TO SUEZ. 



9 



entrance of the quarantine harbour. The other harbour 
lay to the left, and just in front rose the citadel and 
the church built by Queen Adelaide. As soon as we 
stopped, a shoal of feluccas' came off, their coloured lights 
sparkling like glowworms on the water, and most of 
the gentlemen went ashore, but it was too cold and too 
late for ladies, and at last we went below. It was diffi- 
cult, however, to prevail upon oneself to go to bed. The 
scene was too dream-like in its loveliness, the white 
buildings and fortifications glistening in the full moon- 
light, and the sea reflecting it like a mirror. I did not 
go to sleep till long after the skip^s lights were out; and 
when morning broke, every trace of the beautiful vision 
had vanished. The only memorials of it remaining were 
the exquisite bunches of roses, heath, and small white 
narcissus which adorned the breakfast table. 

The crew were all paraded on deck at ten, and the 
church bell began soon after. There was full morning 
service attended by all the passengers and most of the 
officers, crew, and stewards. Our missionary fellow- 
traveller gave us a very good sermon, and when some of 
us went forward afterwards with a number of tracts for 
the sailors, they were very thankfully received. 

In the evening there was some heavy rain and a 
brilliant lunar rainbow, but the clouds soon parted, and we 
left them behind. "We had service again at eight, and a 
very impressive sermon on the words " My times are in 
Thy hand." The preacher spoke solemnly about the 
close of the year, especially addressing those who were 
about to settle in foreign lands, and reminding them of 
their Christian, opportunities and responsibilities ; and 
after this we spent a very quiet pleasant evening. I sat 
up in my cabin till the new year, and thought of all who 
would then be remembering me. The sea was much 
rougher than it had been before, the waves breaking in 



10 



OVERLAND. 



crests of white foam as far as the eye could reach, and look- 
ing very lovely in the clear moonlight, but heaving close 
to the vessel in long ridges with deep troughs between. 
She held on her way almost unmoved, and there was 
something in her steady course " walking in brightness/' 
impelled by a hidden force and guided by an unseen 
hand that was very cheering and full of strength and 
comfort. It was blessed to think of all who at that time 
were meeting round the throne of grace, and realize that 
we were all in the same ark of safety, being carried over 
ce the waves of this troublesome world " towards the 
haven where we would be. 

The new year dawned but gloomily — a heaving sea 
and stormy sky ; and the day was varied with heavy 
showers and magnificent rainbows. There were many 
absentees both from breakfast and dinner, but I was able 
to put in an appearance at both, and enjoyed a long walk 
with the friend above mentioned. He told me about a 
fearful outbreak of cholera that had occurred in his dis- 
trict, sweeping away one-third of the European inhabi- 
tants in a single fortnight. His wife and childreu were 
away at the hills, and he opened his house as a hospital 
to all who liked to avail themselves of it. turning the 
large dining and drawing-rooms into regular cholera 
wards, besides visiting the sick at their own homes. The 
great point was to combat the excessive panic which the 
disease inspired, especially among the natives. Sometimes 
when summoned to a case, he found the man writhing in 
agony and all his family sitting round afraid to touch him, 
till at length he set the example, by himself rubbing the 
extremities and trying to restore circulation. Many died 
within three or four hours from the commencement of the 
attack. 

Nothing occurred to vary the monotony of this day 
and the next, except the after-dinner speeches which 



LONDON TO SUEZ. 



11 



were inade as usual on the last occasion of sitting down 

together. Co]. as senior among the passengers, 

proposed the health of the captain and officers, thanking 
them for their polite attentions during the voyage, and 
the captain duly responded amid loud applause. For the 
rest, it was too wet and windy to sit on deck or walk, 
even under the awnings, so the passengers who were well 
enough to leave their cabins spent the time according to 
their several tastes — in reading, writing, talking, or playing 
chess, or other games. The pilot was already on board, 
a picturesque old fellow, with a white turban, grey beard, 
and Turkish dress of blue cloth. The navigation into 
Alexandria is said to be dangerous on account of shift- 
ing sand banks. Almost every one was busy in the 
evening, finishing letters to be posted there the follow- 
ing clay. 

Our seventh and last day in the Mediterranean was 
decidedly the worst, the sea being so rough in the early 
morning that one had to hold on with one hand and dress 
with the other, and it seemed decidedly more prudent to 
have some tea and cold chicken on deck than to descend 
to breakfast. 

After service there was a general repacking of port- 
manteaux and carpet-bags, and before long Alexandria 
came in sight ; its harbour full of fine vessels, and the 
Pacha's palace and summer-house reminding us bv their 
very oriental architecture that we had bidden farewell to 
Europe. Both were light and pretty, but looked far more 
like cardboard models than real buildings. Palm-trees 
grew near, and a row of nearly one hundred windmills 
dotted the long line of the sandy shore. We glided in 
among a host of vessels, large and small, under the ener- 
getic direction of our Arab pilot, passing, among others, 
a fine steamer of the Austrian Lloyds', two vessels of the 
P, and 0, Company, two large Turkish men-of-war, their 



12 



OVERLAND. 



boats rowing to and fro, filled with soldiers and musi- 
cians, some fine Liverpool ships, and a crowd of Egyptian 
boats, with boatmen of every shade of colour and every 
variety of costume. Some were Nubians, almost jet 
black ; others Lascars or Arabs of lighter hues : some 
with only one garment, a kind of long blue cotton skirt ; 
others with thick, dark, blanket-like drapery, and large 
pointed hoods drawn over their heads : some again were 
in full Eastern costume, with long striped garments and 
huge turbans, from beneath which bright silk scarfs, 
striped with vivid colours and fringed with elaborate 
tassels, hung loosely down the back and shoulders. 
These brilliant "puggeries" were often combined with 
a European coat and trousers of blue cloth and a red fez, 
and as yellow always predominates in their colouring, 
they added a striking effect to the costume. 

After an early dinner we said farewell to our beautiful 
vessel and its pleasant captain, and embarked on the 
steam tender which was to take us to the station, a horrible, 
dirty, flat-bottomed boat, manned by natives, and worked 
in the most primitive style. It was a necessary exchange, 
for the harbour further in was not deep enough for a large 
vessel, but the transit was a most uncomfortable one. 
There was scarcely room to sit down ; the smells were 
horrible, and these, combined with the great swell in the 
harbour, made some of the passengers ill even in the 
short voyage to shore. However, the boat was secured 
alongside the quay at last, though the energetic singing 
of the natives as they hauled us up was an amusing 
contrast to their listless handling of the ropes, and the 
whole party was soon landed on Egyptian soil. 

Our short walk to the train was attended by a 
crowd — volunteer coolies, eager to carry our bags and 
umbrellas, boys with their skirts full of fine oranges for 
sale, and idlers with no particular object in view. Egyp- 



LONDON TO SUEZ. 



13 



tian women were sitting on the ground selling oranges, 
the pecular veil of the country hiding everything but 
their eyes ; and strings of camels stalked along close to 
the station, mingling ancient and modern associations 
most incongruously. There was no purchase of tickets, 
the Egyptian transit being included in the passage money 
paid to the Company ; but when the train came up there 
was a rush for places, every party being naturally anxious 
to keep together. 

At last all were settled, and we started on what was 
certainly the most memorable railway journey in my life. 
Everything was novel, everything picturesque, everything 
incongruous in the highest degree, the carriages only ex- 
cepted. They were ancient specimens of English build, 
in a woeful state of disrepair, and the railway seemed laid 
to correspond. The line was so uneven that we rocked 
and rolled in a way that would have been alarming had 
not our progress been too slow to admit of any fear. 
One young man of our party, after exhausting every 
other device to occupy his restless spirit, got out of the 
window, all the doors being locked, and proceeded coolly 
along the train to pay visits to his friends in other car- 
■ riages. 

Our course at first lay through a strip of low, marshy 
ground, with the sea on one side and a canal on the 
other; between us and the latter, gardens, fields, and 
villages in quick succession. There were palms and 
other trees with very dense, dark foliage, gardens full of 
gigantic cabbages and other vegetables, and fields of rice, 
sugar-canes, and cotton, with the pods still hanging. 
Here and there came patches or belts of the most vivid 
green, apparently a kind of vetch ; and above the em- 
bankment of the canal rose the long tapering masts of 
the latteen-rigged boats, which form so characteristic a 
feature in pictures of Egyptian scenery. Every now and 



14 



OVEELAND. 



then we passed groups of natives mounted on donkeys, 
or accompanying laden camels or droves of buffaloes. 
Some of the villages were more like mere rabbit warrens, 
one row of doors above another opening into the banks 
of dried mud, of which the dwellings were composed ; 
others looked more like clusters of large brown bee-hives, 
thickly set on almost every rising ground. Just at sun- 
set we saw a solitary Mussulman in the field kneel for 
his evening prayer. He was a fine tall man in flowing 
white garments, and as he first prostrated himself and 
then knelt and repeatedly bowed his forehead to the 
earth, the sight was very touching. It was the first time, 
but by no means the last, that the unaffected devotion of 
Mahometans or heathen gave me a pang of shame for 
myself and fellow Christians. 

But the railway stations ! No power of pen or pencil 
could convey more than a faint idea of their abounding and 
most ludicrous anomalies. The station itself was gene- 
rally a square stone building, without any apparent 
means of light or ventilation, or sometimes of entrance ; 
contiguous to which was a long, open shed, where 
groups of Arabs or Egyptians squatted smoking. 
Officials, in every variety of dress, from blue cotton 
shirt and drawers, bare legs and skull cap, up to cloth 
uniform and fez or turban, came to the carriage- doors 
with directions in singularly broken English, or rang a 
cracked bell as the signal for departure. At one station, 
which we did not reach till long after nightfall, there 
was a refreshment-room, but none of the ladies of our 
party got out, and the scene opposite our carriage was 
amusing and picturesque in the extreme. A long row of 
stalls had been erected, and at these natives were selling 
provisions and fruit by the light of large lanterns, hold- 
ing up and proffering their goods with eager gesticula- 
tions, and dilating on their cheapness in a rapid sort of 



LONDON TO SUEZ. 



15 



guttural chant. A water-carrier walked up and down 
the train, supplying water from his goatskin bag ; and 
imposing officials, with long striped robes and turbans 
and wands of office, stood in a row on the platform, 
which was lighted by tall, iron braziers, filled with 
blazing wood ; the background was thick darkness, and 
the red glare falling on so many wild forms and un- 
accustomed faces, produced effects of light and shade 
more easily imagined than described. The unusual 
crowd was probably owing to the fact of some races 
being in progress at Cairo ; owing to which, and to the 
consequent want of room at the hotels, we were debarred 
from the usual alternative of staying for the night at the 
capital, and had to push through to Suez. 

The half-hour allowed for refreshment passed much 
more quickly and satisfactorily for those who remained in 
the train, than for those who had been tempted out by 
the prospect of a hot supper. Everything was as dear 
and as bad as possible; the coffee undrinkable, the 
bread sour, and the beer, though in AlsoppV bottles, 
apparently of Egyptian manufacture. However, what 
was wanting in the fare, was made up in the charge — 
5s. each for supper, and 2s. 6d. for a bottle of beer ; and 
at last we were on our way again, passing one or two 
branches of the Nile by moonlight, and hurrying past 
one village after another, till we got into the desert, with 
its monotonous wastes of sand flats and sand hills. The 
night grew very cold, and we all tried, with more or less 
success, to wrap ourselves against the draughts of our 
creaky old carriage, and go to sleep. 

After an hour or two of interrupted rest, our quiet 
was alarmingly disturbed. One of our party, who had 
partaken of the memorable bottle of beer at the road- 
side station, was seized with violent cramps and sickness 
— the more distressing from the impossibility of stopping 



16 



0VEELAND. 



anywhere, or obtaining medical aid. Providentially a 
gentleman in the carriage had some spirits of camphor 
with him, and administered it with partial success, though 
both cramps and sickness returned at intervals through- 
out the night to a distressing degree ; and when we 
reached Suez at six in the morning, the unfortunate 
invalid could scarcely walk the few yards to the hotel. 
Here, also, there was not a single room unoccupied, and 
he had to rest as well as he could, in a large public 
apartment, furnished all round with sofas. There was a 
similar room for ladies, comfortably fitted up, and hung 
with Landseer's familiar engravings ; and here, after the 
great refreshment of even limited ablutions, we had 
coffee, and lay down to rest till the general breakfast 
hour. 

The hotel is very comfortable, and built in a style 
well suited to the climate; it encloses a quadrangular 
court of considerable size, partly covered with an awning, 
under which small tables were set out, intermingled with 
fountains, and vases and stands of flowers. These were 
all bordered with ice-plants, which fell over the sides 
in a deep fringe of cool, vivid green, and filled with 
petunias, oleanders, and other greenhouse flowers in 
full bloom. The ground was strewn with shells from 
the shore, and as we looked down from the windows of 
the long corridor, which runs all round the building, 
everything bore a clear, fresh aspect under the bright 
morning sun. Bheesties, in scanty and tattered clothing, 
with bare brown arms and legs, were coming in with 
their goatskins full, and returning with them empty 
and dripping ; and native servants, in full Eastern 
costnme, were standing in groups, or hurrying to 
and fro. 

Breakfast was a dear and pretentious meal, but the 
crowd of hungry travellers did full justice to it ; and 



LONDON TO SUEZ. 



17 



after an interval of letter-writing, we went out for a 
ramble through the bazaars. We had been warned of 
the smells and of the filth we should encounter, but 
nothing could fully prepare an inexperienced European 
for either. First, there were camels^ skins lying in the 
sun, moist and most odoriferous, in an early stage of 
tanning; then, everywhere in the narrow streets, an 
amount and variety of filth, to which few Continental 
towns could offer the faintest parallel. The bazaar .is a 
perfect maze of tortuous alleys and open market-places, 
illed with stalls and shops of all descriptions, and with 
11 odours equally varied. Here were " two women grind- 
ing at a mill/' sitting on the ground close together, and 
making one flat stone revolve upon another ; and hosts 
of " children, sitting in the market-place," gambling with 
pebbles, and otherwise amusing themselves. One or two 
were rather pretty, but the majority dirty in the extreme, 
and many of them disgusting objects from ophthalmia, 
their eyes being covered with swarms of flies. It is very 
necessary here to take care that no fly settles on one's 
face, as this repulsive complaint, and perhaps others, 
may be communicated by these insects after their con- 
tact with the disease. 

The view down some of the narrow streets, with 
goods and garments hanging overhead, and the houses 
nearly meeting, was very picturesque. There are no 
fronts to the shops, so that the goods are all exposed to 
view, and the proprietors generally sit cross-legged and 
smoking, inside. One man, in a barber's shop, was 
having his head shaved, full in public view, and here 
and there veiled women passed us; but the great 
majority of the passers-by were men. The genera 
aspect of the food was certainly not inviting, but two 
articles looked pre-eminently disagreeable — barrels of 
ghee, a sort of preserved butter, with which all Eastern 

2 



18 



OVERLAND. 



cookery is performed, and tubs of dates, smashed into a 
disgusting-looking mass, and thickly covered with the 
all-pervading flies. Camels lay here and there, being 
loaded, but donkeys seemed in general use for riding, 
and goats, kids, fowls, and surly, sneaking dogs walked 
everywhere quite at their ease. There were a few shabby 
French shops, but the sun was too hot for more than a 
hurried view of the bazaar, and we returned to rest in 
the shady verandah, looking over the sea, and watching 
the boats and boatmen below. A group of Nubians and 
Egyptians were sitting lazily in the sun, at the corner of 
the landing-place, listening to a native drum, when 
another very well-dressed and respectable-looking native, 
in long striped robes and an imposing turban, came by 
with a small parcel for one of the boats. He stopped and 
began to dance to the music, and laugh and joke with the 
bystanders, and we were at first amused at his antics ; 
but when he came nearer we found, from his unsteady 
walk, that he was intoxicated, and as he got to the boat- 
side he began to abuse one of the men in the foulest 
broken English, with words that he had probably picked 
up from some of our sailors without understanding them. 
The remark of one of the gentlemen was an awful 
reproach to our nation, and it is to be feared only too 
true, et The first English word these fellows pick up is 
always a curse/' 

At last the glare of the sun on the water made us feel 
very sick and giddy, and we retreated from the verandah 
to the ladies' room. Here a short sleep rather refreshed 
us, but as we were still disinclined to face the long, hot 
dinner and the noise of the band which was already 
beginning to play below, we had some bread and fruit 
brought up from the table, and rested till the train from 
Cairo brought up the Southampton passengers who had 
waited there ; and after they had dined we all started 



LONDON TO SUEZ. 



19 



together about five o'clock in the tender which was to 
convey us to the ship. Large vessels cannot come within 
a considerable distance of Suez, so they are obliged 
to employ these tenders, which only draw perhaps a 
couple of feet of water. * Onrs was very crowded, though 
it only carried passengers and their hand baggage, but we 
sat down on a pile of carpet-bags, and found the transit 
tolerably comfortable. 

We had to make a long circuit in the harbour to put 
some of our number on board the Mauritius steamer, so it 
was quite dark when we reached the te Nemesis/' where 
the aspect of things in general were sufficiently discourag- 
ing. Nearly two hundred passengers, including forty-six 
young children, had to be crowded into a heavy, unwieldy, 
old steamer, so low in the water that it was evident we 
could not often look for open ports. My berth was 
allotted in the cabin next the pantry, and no one who 
has not been on board one of these large steamers, 
with meals going on all day, can imagine the amount of 
clatter and discomfort which this involves. Even these 
undesirable quarters were shared with three fellow- 
passengers, and there was not a hook or nail in the 
cabin where one of us could hano; a single article 
of dress. Our portmanteaux had to be pushed under 
the berths, and dragged out again for everything we 
wanted, and the standing- space was too small for 
two of us ever to dress at the same time. Imagine 
this, with the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean in pros- 

# This, and several other points were altered before my 
return journey. The largest vessels can now anchor by the 
quay at Suez ; the Marseilles boat no longer touches at Malta ; 
the railway route between Alexandria and Suez no longer 
passes Cairo ; and the wretched old vessel which was the scene 
of so much discomfort, figures no more on the P. & 0. list of 
steamers. 



20 



OTEELAXD. 



pect, and the dread certainty of closed windows nearly 
all the way ! 

Fortunately, however, we were at anchor for the 
night, and there was no noise or motion to disturb the rest 
we so much needed. 



21 



II 

SUEZ TO CALCUTTA. 

Jan. 5. The deck next morning was the theatre of a 
noisy scene, more interesting than satisfactory to the 
spectators. The boat with our baggage was alongside, and 
the baggage itself was being pitched on board in the most 
reckless manner. Portmanteaux were burst open, iron 
bands torn off, boxes broken, and the deck strewn with 
large nails forced out of packing-cases. We had t© 
watch for the arrival of our cabin-packages and see them 
carried to our quarters ; and one unfortunate lady, who 
trusted to the promised care of an officer and neglected 
to assure herself personally of the conveyance of her 
baggage to her cabin, had it all consigned to the hold, 
and was obliged to wear warm dresses till the next 
baggage- clay, no representations being of any avail to 
open the doors of that obdurate treasure-house. Except 
under these uncomfortable circumstances there was no- 
thing to complain of in these first few days on the Red 
Sea. The heat was moderate, and the breeze at times 
almost too strong for comfort. Land was visible on both 
sides all the first day, long ranges of sandstone rocks, 
often wild and beautiful in form and colour, either rising 
almost from the water's edo-e, or forming a background 
to plains of bare and arid sand. The shipwrecked 
mariner in this sea has indeed a terrible "prospect before 



22 



OVERLAND. 



him unless speedily discovered by some passing vessel. 
We had on board a large number of passengers who had 
recently undergone a similar experience on a coral reef off 
the Brazilian coast, and their vivid accounts of danger and 
adventure occupied many an hour of the daily promena de 
on deck. Altogether we soon settled into the regular 
routine of ship life in warm latitudes, and a very dreamy 
far niente existence it is, though its delights are few. 
Early in the morning the decks are too wet after the 
daily washing for much comfort, and the crowded cabins 
simply unendurable ; while the heat, even under the 
double awning on the quarter-deck soon became over- 
powering, the thermometer in the companion ranging 
from eighty to ninety-six degrees between breakfast and 
dinner-time. We still had daily service at ten o'clock ; 
and the saloon was generally occupied immediately after 
by a party rehearsing amateur theatricals, to whom it 
was ceded by tacit general consent. The rest of the pas- 
sengers took books, or work, or chess up to the quarter- 
deck and bore the heat as best they could, reclining in 
their folding-chairs, and enduring with indolent and 
plaintive wonder the noisy gambols of the troop of 
children who, regardless alike of the heat and of the motion, 
appeared to consider the whole vessel and everything in 
it an institution for their special and peculiar benefit. 
Nurses and mammas were alike too sick or too indolent to 
check their uproar, and so a whole tribe of urchins of 
both sexes raced up and down the deck screaming and 
shouting at some tiny toy terriers which raced after them, 
adding their barking and yelping to the uproar; or 
played at horses, and made teams of the folding chairs 
with an energy and pertinacity exceedingly irritating to 
their suffering elders and betters. Under such circum- 
stances writing required an almost superhuman effort; 
reading, except of the lightest kind, was barely possible ; 



SUEZ TO CALCUTTA. 



23 



and the relief was always great when the early dinner-bell 
summoned nurses and children below, and a temporary 
lull ensued. But the heat meanwhile waxed steadily more 
merciless, and the chief comfort of the day for those who 
were well enough to stir, was a cold bath before dressing 1 
for the four o'clock dinner. Those who did not venture 
to table stayed on deck, waited on indifferently by the 
busy stewardesses who had to secure their viands as they 
could ; and if the doctor was propitious and ordered 
champagne, this meal was often the turning point of the 
day. Breakfast on board ship is too often a melancholy 
delusion, and tiffin little better ; but if one can eat a 
dinner, its reviving and consolatory effects are speedily 
perceptible. Then, as the great red sun dips below the 
horizon, and the dazzling, quicksilvery brilliance of the 
heaving waters melts into a rich purple under the 
crimson and violet sky, comes the redeeming period of a 
tropical day. The breeze of evening circulates freely 
as the side-awnings are rolled up, the stars come out 
above, and are more than reflected in the dazzling phos- 
phorescence of the waters, and the most listless of the sick 
and weary passengers revive. This is the time for long 
promenades on the crowded deck, and quiet conversa- 
tions, or it may be flirtations in secluded gangways and dim 
corners — the time too, above all others, for home-sick 
musings and longings for the dear ones far away. The 
phosphoric light varies very much in brilliancy, and is 
best seen near the prow of the vessel, but at times it is 
wonderfully beautiful; spreading in broad streaks or 
flashes of silvery light along the crests of the parted 
waves, and melting away in the distance, while here and 
there balls of light, apparently as large as a small 
orange float singly or in glittering groups close to the 
vessel's side, " like fire-flies tangled in a silver braid/' I 
once went forward under good escort to see it in perfection^ 



24 



OVERLAND. 



and, though the transit was unpleasant, past hen-coops and 
sheep-pens, and over sleeping Lascars stretched upon the 
deck, the sight more than repaid the exertion. The light 
broke in broad irregular waves from the prow, scattering 
in countless distinct stars which, as they floated away in 
the dim distance, could hardly be distinguished from the 
reflection of the stars above. 

Next came the hour of tea, little heeded except by 
the fortunate individuals who possessed a private teapot, 
and then on fine nights the ship's lanterns were hung 
round the quarter-deck, the piano and the fiddler brought 
into requisition, and dancing began. There was plenty 
of space both for dancers and lookers-on down one side 
of the quarter-deck, as well as for the quieter members of 
the community on the other ; and these evening hours 
were very enjoyable, except when the long sideways roll 
of the vessel grew too pronounced for comfort, and sent 
us, ill at ease, to try and get to sleep before worse miseries 
began. That going below was always a trial — down from 
the fresh cool air, and the soft darkness, through the 
glittering saloon with its array of decanters and glasses, 
its odours of negus and toddy, and its indefatigable card- 
players, into our stifling cabins, with the ports often shut, 
and the only ventilation derived from the saloon. I shall 
never forget the first night, when having gone to bed 
with the window open, and an occasional puff of the soft 
breeze fanning me in my lofty berth, I woke in total 
darkness and found myself half suffocated, and the port- 
hole closed. The ship's carpenter had been in while we 
were asleep, and screwed it down to keep out the rising 
waves ; and presently, without leave asked or obtained, 
in he came again. I could just see by the dim light from 
the saloon that he was a Chinese — a sufficiently startling 
figure to find leaning over one in the dead of night — but 
he merely walked to the window, opened it with a tarn of 



SUEZ TO CALCUTTA. 



25 



the large screw and some heavy blows, and walked out 
again. We heard next morning that the sea had washed 
into some of the cabins, and one lady had to stay in bed 
because all her possessions were drenched. 

So the dreamy days wore on, varied by few incidents 
worthy of record, though there was, as usual, a vast 
amount of petty gossip afloat. One day, however, just 
before dinner a little excitement was created by a lady 
passenger suddenly proclaiming that we were passing 
through a shoal of shrimps. Every one went to the 
side to see, and we found ourselves traversing a large 
field of floating sea weed, evidently washed up by the 
gale of the night before, while mingled with this, or float- 
ing apart from it in a thick scum on the surface, were 
shoals of what certainly looked at the first glance very like 
large boiled prawns, being about the same general shape 
and size and the same bright colour. We watched for 
some time, quite unable to decide what they were, till some 
one, keener sighted than the rest, pronounced them to be 
locusts. This the quarter-master confirmed, adding that 
large flights were often drowned in this sea ; and, indeed, 
the number on this occasion must have been very great, 
for the ship was a long while getting clear of them. It 
brought back vividly the recollection of the " mighty 
strong west wind/' which, more than three thousand 
years ago, swept their swarming myriads out of Egypt to 
perish in these very waters. 

Sunday brought quite a novel scene at the roll call 
after breakfast. Instead of the English sailor-faces and 
uniforms, to which we were accustomed in the other ship, 
there was a curious array of nationalities ranged on each 
side of the deck for the captain's inspection. At one end 
stood the few European seamen in proper sailor dress, and 
next to them a number of Chinese similarly apparelled, 
except that they wore their national broad straw hats ; 



26 



OVERLAND. 



next came others in white blouses, wide blue trousers, and 
bare feet ; and then a long row of Lascars, very inferior 
in size and appearance, but attired in like manner. On 
the other side of the deck were ranged two more rows of 
natives, those on one side in white calico, edged with scarlet, 
and the others in white edged with blue ; their superiors 
and a few Sepoys being distinguished by more fanciful 
uniforms. At half-past ten the deck was prepared for 
service, the forms and deck seats placed across as in a 
church, and a pile of cushions covered with the Union 
Jack, arranged as a desk. The piano was brought into 
requisition to lead the hymns, and everything was done in 
the most decent and orderly manner, but few of us were 
able really to enjoy it, owing to heavy headache and 
drowsiness, the result of heat and sleepless nights. 
Evening service was held in the saloon, and we had an 
energetic practical sermon on the words, " Unto Him 
shall the gathering of the people be/ ; the preacher 
dwelling much upon Epiphany lessons, and on the duties 
of Christian residents in heathen lands. 

The next two days were very rough, the ship pitching 
tremendously, and the sea continually getting into some 
unfortunate cabin. We fared no better than our neigh- 
bours — a tremendous wave dashing all over our little 
dormitory, drenching the sofa berth under the window, 
and the low one opposite, and even splashing my high 
shelf above. The ports were all closed after this, and 
the prospect of spending the night below was so unbear- 
able, that the captain arranged for all who chose to do 
so, to sleep on deck. One side was accordingly set apart 
for ladies, and the cabin stewards having brought up our 
mattrasses and pillows, and ranged them on the skylights, 
benches, and deck, we crept up after the saloon hghts 
were extinguished, to make ourselves as comfortable as 
we could. It was an infinite relief to escape from the in- 



SUEZ TO CALCUTTA. 



27 



tolerable atmosphere below, for a cool breeze was blowing, 
and the heat was bearable. The stars were glorious, the 
moon having not yet risen, and it was strange in waking 
moments to look straight up at Orion's glittering armour. 
But the worst misery of all the voyage, was the relentless 
call at half-past four to get up, that the men might scour 
the decks. The stewards rolled up the mattrasses and 
walked off with them, and we followed, shrinking from 
the foul air of the close saloon, where the stewards and 
some of the passengers had been sleeping on and under 
the long tables. My cabin was worse still, for the solitary 
fellow-traveller who had preferred to sleep below, had 
opened the bull's eye to get a breath of air, and had 
another sea in. The whole place was full of soaked 
clothes and the berths piled with them, so there was 
nothing for it, in the dim light, but to push everything 
to one end, get the mattrass and pillows laid down, 
rolled up as they were, at the other, and then climb up 
and settle the chaos as well as circumstances allowed, for 
another fragment of comfortless slumber. 

Without this daily scrubbing of the spotless planks — 
a remnant of barbarous red-tape tyranny that might fairly 
be abolished under such peculiar circumstances — we 
might have had good nights to help us through the daily 
miseries of the tropic seas, and envious glances would 
not have turned, so often to the luxurious cabin in the 
centre of the deck, where the captain could breathe pure 
air night and day, safe from ill odours and invading 
waves. 

Jan. 11th. Our seventh night on the Eed Sea carried 
us safely through the Straits of Babelmandeb, the long- 
dreaded Gate of Tears, which has not yet ceased to de- 
serve its ancient name. On the ridge of black rocks 
which lay on our port side at early morning, with its 
long, outlying chain of dangerous points above and below 



28 



OVERLAND. 



the surface, the "Alma," perished in the night, and we 
could not watch the waves breaking wildly over them, 
without feeling thankful that our passage was by day. We 
soon got into smoother water, and at ten o'clock anchored 
close to Aden. Singularly enough, for it is said not to 
rain here oftener than once in two or three years, it 
poured heavily for the first half-hour, and the dark 
outlines of the precipitous rocks that compose this in- 
hospitable settlement, gloomed on us dimly through a 
cloud of vapour. 

Aden is evidently of volcanic origin, a mere mass of 
steep, reddish, jagged rocks, interspersed with little 
sandy nooks, and with not a tree or a blade of grass to be 
seen. There are a few buildings near the harbour, a 
small hotel or two kept by Parsees, who also keep open 
the few shops in the place, some petty official residences, 
and an immense coal depot, supplied from England. The 
importance of the port for this purpose, may be estimated 
from the fact that our steamer consumed regularly from 
forty to sixty tons a day, and that Aden is the great 
coaling station for all the P. and 0. vessels to Bombay, 
Calcutta, Mauritius, Australia, and China. 

Boats soon came off to us in great numbers, manned 
by scantily-clad natives with frizzy heads of reddish hair, 
which looked strange on their dark skins. They are said 
to give it this tinge by artificial means, and if this is true, 
modern belles who are not satisfied without a tint more 
brilliant than nature has bestowed, do but follow the 
fashion set long ago by these amphibious Arabs. They are 
small, lithe, bronze fellows, very active and good-natured 
looking, and quite as much at their ease in the water as 
on dry land. Some brought Parsees on business, dark, 
comfortable looking men, with neat, white garments, and 
singular brown, helmet-like caps. Other boats were full 
of Arab pedlars, loaded with ostrich feathers, native 



SUEZ TO CALCUTTA. 



29 



baskets and boxes ; coral, shells, etc. ; and an amusing 
scene began. These men went round the decks offer- 
ing their goods at most exorbitant prices, and selling 
them after endless chaffering in fragmentary English for 
a tenth of the original demand. Meanwhile the divers 
crowded round the ship, sitting still in the clear green 
water, as comfortably as if they had some solid resting 
place, and clamouring for small silver to be thrown to 
them. Now and then, some one tossed a sixpence or a 
threepence far out into the water, and in a moment a 
dozen dusky forms turned upside down and dashed after 
it. The water closed over them, and for a second there 
was nothing to be seen but a confused crowd of brown 
arms and legs, and then they came up again one by one, 
the fortunate finder displaying the coin in triumph, 
before thrusting it into his cheek as the safest depository, 
in readiness for another dive. Some of the men had 
their cheeks crammed with small coins before the morn- 
ing was over. Some climbed into the rigging and 

O coo 

plunged from a height into the water, and even offered 
to dive under the ship and come up on the other side for 
a rupee, but no one encouraged them to try. Many of 
the passengers went off to shore as soon as possible, to 
escape the coaling, which is always a nuisance, but espe- 
cially so at Aden, where the heat reduces much of the 
coal to fine, black dust, which penetrates in spite of all 
precaution, to every part of the vessel ; but we preferred 
waiting for the evening, instead of venturing across the 
blazing sea on to the shadeless land. At last evening 
came, and we started in an old boat without a rudder, 
manned by half-a-dozen grinning, active little fellows, 
who rowed us to shore, using their long paddles very 
briskly. They had picked up just enough English to be 
understood, and were very voluble in their eagerness 
that we should have " Number 6 boat " when we wanted 



30 



OVERLAND. 



to return. As they ran the boat on shore, Mr. — } who 
had his beautiful little boy in his arms, called for one of 
them to help the ladies out, and it was absurd to see the 
air with which a slim, almost naked boy of apparently 
about thirteen, offered his hand to support a lady of 
treble his size and weight. Another volunteered to fetch 
us a carriage for four, but presently returned with the 
news that there were none to be had, bringing two 
buggies instead. For the benefit of the untravelled, it 
may be as well to state that the buggy, the most popular 
vehicle for gentlemen in India, is a large gig on very 
high wheels, with a head which gives it a very top-heavy 
appearance. The two in question were of the most dingy 
and dilapidated description, but there was no alternative, 
so we managed to climb in and pack ourselves, the driver 
responding to our query as to where he would sit, 
by slapping his thighs, with a broad grin, and de- 
claring, ec Me horse, me good as horse/' which he pro- 
ceeded to verify by cracking his whip and running along- 
side the animal, certainly equalling its speed with little 
apparent effort. 

After a visit to the post-office and to one or two shops 
where everything was exorbitantly dear, we set off for 
a drive round the bay, which really looked pretty in the 
fast closing twilight. It was a novel ride, but certainly 
a pleasant one. The evening breeze blew softly from the 
sea, and the Arab drivers trotted on holding the reins, 
and keeping up easily with their horses along the smooth 
narrow road, the dark rocks bounding the view on one 
side, and on the other the harbour with its twinkling 
lights, and the innumerable host of heaven, " most calm, 
most bright" above. Now and then we passed a soli- 
tary Arab mounted on a camel, or a long string of 
the silent-footed beasts laden with fuel or fodder, then 
a party of weird-looking natives on foot, or noticed 



SUEZ TO CALCUTTA. 



31 



the hungry lizards watching for insects round the 
dim oil lamp over some trader's door. Most of our 
passengers had driven out to the cantonments, which 
are large and well worth seeing, but we had no time for 
this, and were heartily glad to find ourselves safe on 
board again, for one can scarcely fancy a worse mishap 
than being left behind in this parched, rocky wilderness. 
The captain told us that he had once been obliged to leave 
five passengers ashore here, they having neglected to 
return at the appointed time ; and in such a case they 
would have to live at their own expense till the arrival of 
the next fortnight's steamer — a lesson in punctuality that 
few would choose to undergo. 

For the next portion of the voyage the heatwas intense, 
and the motion very trying. Most people slept on deck, 
braving the nightly inconveniences, and the early morning- 
miseries, for the sake of even a few hours of coolness and 
fresh air. The forenoon and early afternoon passed in list- 
less drowsiness, the very punkah boys going to sleep while 
pulling, and only roused now and then by the sepoy going 
round and administering a sharp box on the ears. Then 
they would wake up with a grin that displayed their beau- 
tiful white teeth to perfection, pull for a few minutes, and 
gradually drop off to sleep again. The sea in its quiet 
moods glowed like amass of molten silver, heaving in white 
heat under the glare of the pitiless sun, and the shoals of 
flying fish that rose continually from the waves and flitted 
across the surface, soon sought refuge again from the 
fiery brightness. Once or twice we had a heavy storm, 
the rain hissing down into the sea with truly tropical 
violence ; and then again came the long heaving swell 
that reduced both mind and body to the lowest pitch of 
passive endurance, and there were more drenched cabins, 
and closed ports became the order both of night and day. 

One of the stewards died after many days of suffering 



82 



OVERLAND. 



during which he was tended with womanly care and 
kindness by his overworked companions. Exhausted as 
they must have been by a day's toil, extending with little 
intermission from 5 a.m to 10 p.m., they came in at all 
hours of the night to sit with him, and render any ser- 
vice in their power. The clergyman was too ill to visit 
him except for a few minutes at a time, but my friend 
did all he could to supply the place, read to him, prayed 
with him, and sat up with him many hours, winning golden 
opinions from all the poor fellow's comrades. The 
funeral was very solemn, attended by the officers in full 
uniform, the stewards, and the English sailors, and as 
many of the passengers as chose to be present. The 
body, sewn up in canvas with heavy weights, and covered 
with the Union Jack, was carried from the forecastle to the 
opening of the bulwarks, preceded by the clergyman in 
his surplice, and rested on a stretcher covered with a flag 
during the service. Then as the words were spoken, 
" We now commit his body to the deep," the stretcher 
was run out to the side, the flags instantaneously with- 
drawn, and the heavy 'splash told that the ocean had 
him safely in her keeping till the sea should give up her 
dead. 

The next event of consequence was the sudden and 
startling* illness of our kind brave friend, which seemed 
for a few hours likely to end in death. It was very 
awful to see him, late so buoyant, energetic and self-for- 
getting, stretched helpless and apparently dying on the 
deck; but God was merciful in our extremity, and the 
strong bright life that scattered sunshine and kindness 
everywhere around, was spared for further usefulness. 

Nothing else broke the monotony of the voyage until 
we reached Ceylon, except the coming off of the long 
expected theatricals, which were arranged with an amount 
of care and pains very inadequately repaid by the results. 



SUEZ TO CALCUTTA. 



33 



Part of the deck was screened off for the performance, 
and a drop scene suspended in front, the top and the 
side scenes being really contrived and draped witB skill 
and taste. The programme, too, was beautifully illumi- 
nated by one of the stewards, but the performances were 
two wretched farces, and the acting for the most part 
below criticism — all the female parts being represented 
by the younger gentlemen in dresses borrowed from their 
lady friends. 

Jan. 21st. At last, after ten days of the Indian Ocean, 
we anchored late in the evening outside the port of 
Galle, which it is dangerous to enter in the darkness. 
Every one was early on deck next morning, and in high 
spirits at the prospect of a day on shore, and the ship 
was alive with Cingalese salesmen bringing jewels, models 
of boats, combs, and tortoiseshell ornaments for sale. 
They all wore long hair, twisted into a knot like a woman's 
behind, and kept back in front by a round comb, such as 
children in England sometimes wear, so that, as our in- 
corrigible punster remarked, Cf It is difficult to tell the 
Cingalese (single hes) from the single shes." Their 
canoes, too, are extraordinary vessels, long and narrow, 
with high, straight, perpendicular sides, to one of which 
an outrigger is attached : that is, a heavy log of wood 
fastened to the top by two curved spars so as to lie 
parallel with the boat and steady it in the water. This 
strange contrivance makes it almost impossible to upset 
them even in the heaviest sea. The boatmen row with 
long paddles, and are a good-looking symmetrical race, 
very like statues of reddish bronze. 

The harbour is a perilous one, from the numerous 
reefs it contains, but it is most picturesque and lovely, 
semi-circular in shape, and bounded on one side by 
heights covered with cocoa palms and other rich and vivid 
vegetation. These slope down gradually, still covered 

3 



34 



OVERLAND. 



with the most luxuriant green, and the rocks pierced for 
cannon till they terminate in a reef at the other extremity, 
one or two low ridges also lying within the harbour. It 
was on one of these that the mail steamer, which took 
out Lord Elgin and Baron Gros to China, was wrecked. 
She had just lifted her anchor, but not got up sufficient 
steam to be well under control, and the current drove her 
on the reef. The ambassadors had only time to secure 
their despatches, and everything else went down. The 
mails and specie, and most of the cargo were recovered 
by divers, and a gentleman who had witnessed the opera- 
tion remarked how wonderful it seemed to see them 
handing about the heavy boxes, as if they had been 
trifling parcels, weight being very little felt under water. 

It took about ten minutes to row to the landing stage, 
and from there we had only a short and shady walk to a 
nice hotel. Galle is truly a most lovely place, and, indeed, 
it scarcely needed the cool rocky shade and the roads 
fringed with beautiful trees to make it delightful to our 
sea-wearied eyes. After a breakfast, at which we first 
saw and tasted plantains, we started about nine o'clock 
in a light covered car to visit the Mission House and 
Orphanage at Buona Vista, the height above the harbour. 
It is about three miles from the hotel, along a road which 
first winds through rows of native shops, then through a 
grove of palms that skirts the bay, dotted everywhere 
with native houses, and finally ascends the hill so abruptly 
that no carriage can go up. Everything on either hand 
was novel and interesting. There were the long narrow 
bullock carts of the country, covered with fresh matting 
of green plaited leaves ; boys with long hair twisted up, 
and clean white garments, on their way to school ; men 
and women, almost undistinguishable from each other, 
carrying large water-pots or palm-leaf umbrellas ; Budd- 
hist priests in their yellow robes ; shops full of fruit and 



SUEZ TO. CALCUTTA. 



35 



other commodities ; and huts, where all kinds of domestic 
scenes were being transacted ' in full view of passers 
by. Here and there between the groups of plantains 
and the trunks of the tall palms w r e caught glimpses 
of the harbour, with water bluer than the sky, and 
ships riding at anchor; and presently the road grew 
steeper, till at last we were obliged to get out and walk 
up to our journey's end. The first thing that struck me, 
as we commenced the ascent, was the profuse growth of 
orange-coloured lantana, which covered every waste 
spot as thickly as brambles and nettles do in England. 
It is identical with the old greenhouse favourite at home, 
and being in full blossom, its aromatic scent was very 
pleasant. There were not many other flowers till we got 
to Buona Vista, but the vegetation was luxuriant and 
varied, and the scenery indescribably beautiful — every turn 
in the path displaying fresh glades, and ravines, and dis- 
tant hills. The heat of the sun, even at that early hour, 
was intense, and the ascent trying ; but at last we came in 
sight of the school, and a little higher of the missionary's 
house, which stands on the summit of the headland, sur- 
rounded by palms, with a clearing in front just wide 
enough to allow a noble view of the harbour. Here w 7 e 
were kindly welcomed by the clergyman in temporary 
charge, and spent a very pleasant day. They insisted 
upon our joining them at a second breakfast, after which 
we visited the schools. Everything seemed very satis- 
factory, the native female teacher very gentle and pleasant 
mannered, and the master an intelligent and apparently 
well-informed man. The girls were remarkably bright 
and quick, and as merry and clean as possible. It costs 
less than £5 a year to maintain and clothe one of them, 
and their dress is very neat and graceful. They learn to 
read and write English and Cingalese, and to embroider, 
and make lace, which is sold for the school. After look- 



36 



0VEELAND. 



ing at their work and their copy books, we followed them 
to the eating-room, and saw them enjoying a plentiful 
breakfast of fish curry, which they all ate with their 
fingers, in no wise abashed by the presence of strangers. 

Then w© went on to the boys' school, and heard them 
read their Scripture portion in English, which they did 
quite as well as boys of the same age in an ordinary 
village school at home. After questioning and talking 
to them and to the master for some time, we returned 
to the house, had tiffin, and sat a long while in the shady 
back verandah, looking over one of the loveliest views 
imaginable. Behind the house the ground slopes almost as 
abruptly as in front, into an expanse of jungle, which, as 
well as the hills beyond, is thick with cocoa palms. A 
stream of water winds through it far below, and beyond 
all rises the outline of distant and lofty mountains. The 
foreground was a little patch of neglected garden, filled 
with flowers that in England would only live in green- 
house or hothouse air; splendid gardenias (Cape jessa- 
mines), oleanders, eight or ten feet high, hoyas, and 
brilliant blue creepers, with many others quite new to me. 
One, which I knew afterwards as perhaps the commonest 
of Indian shrubs, is a kind of hibiscus, a large, bushy 
shrub, with a magnificent crimson blossom, remarkable 
for its very prominent style and stamens ; another, some- 
times called the "temple flower/' from its being con- 
stantly offered to the gods, grows in large bunches on a 
bare, almost leafless shrub, and has thick, white petals 
deeply tinged with yellow in the centre, and an over-- 
poweringly sweet smell. Without walking many yards 
in that desolate garden, we gathered as many flowers as 
we could hold, most of them far more gorgeous in size 
and colour than an ordinary English greenhouse could 
supply. Then we rambled to the edge of the cliffs over- 
hanging the harbour, half afraid of snakes or scorpions, 



SUEZ TO CALCUTTA. 



37 



but seeing only splendid butterflies and magnificent ferns 
among the tall palms and boulders and the thickets of 
lantana. Some of the ferns had large palmate fronds of 
a texture stouter than the hart's tongue, others wore 
delicate little spleenworts, but there were none that we 
could positively identify with English varieties. There 
were ants' nests up in the trees, made by fastening the 
leaves together, and looking not unlike birds' nests, 
though woe to the unhappy wight who should be deluded 
into attacking them under that mistake ! 

One of the native boys climbed a palm tree, and 
threw us down some cocoa-nuts, unripe, but containing 
a large quantity of cool, refreshing- fluid, not yet hardened 
into fruit. Green cocoa-nuts are extensively sold in 
India, solely for the sake of this beverage, the 'natives 
opening them dexterously with a hatchet without spil- 
ling a drop, and handing the green goblet to their 
customer, who must be thirsty indeed if he is not 
satisfied with the abundant draught. 

Our kind host dined early in the evening on our 
account ; and during dinner a large porcupine, evidently 
a privileged pet, came in through the front- door, and 
went straight to a plate of boiled rice set down in a 
corner, erecting his quills like an angry turkey-cock 
when any of the servants came too near him. After 
dinner we said good-bye, and started to walk down the 
hill, by the light of a new but brilliant nioon, and the 
shrill music of the crickets swarming in the grass and 
trees. Thousands of fireflies darted in and out anion o- 

o 

the underwood, gleaming like fairy lamps ; but, taken 
separately, the light is neither so large nor so pretty as 
that of an English glowworm. The insect itself is a 
small narrow beetle, about a third of an inch in length 
with wing-cases and body of a dull brown • the light pro- 
ceeding, as in the glowworm, from the hinder segments. 



38 



OVERLAND. 



The carriage was awaiting us at the foot of the hill, 
and we reached the boat and the ship in safety, thus end- 
ing a most memorable and delightful day. 

We had said good-bye to our friends among the 
Australian and China passengers before going ashore, 
and when we returned their vessels were on the point of 
starting, so our passengers stayed late on deck, and gave 
them a hearty cheer as they steamed out. 

Jan. 23rd. The next day was a miserable one for all of 
us. Everyone was very tired, and when the sea grew 
rough we were very wretched altogether. One of the 
gentlemen who had been trying to pick up a few Hin- 
dustani words in readiness for Calcutta, caused great 
amusement by a ludicrous mistake. He had been ill in 
the night, the consequence, probably, of partaking of the 
rich prawn curry, for which Galle is famed ; and being 
terribly afraid of cholera, had the doctor summoned to 
his cabin. The latter very naturally asked him what he 
had been eating, and our friend, as is usually the case, 
ascribing the blame to a perfectly innocent article of 
diet, intended to attribute it to some bananas, which we 
had all tasted for the first time that day. In his fright, 
however, he coufounded the name with another in his 
limited Hindustani vocabulary, and informed the doctor 
that he had eaten a couple of cc pyjamas 93 (pairs of 
drawers) ! His amused interlocutor could only tell him 
that if he took to such extraordinary diet he would not 
answer for the consequences ; but the anecdote soon 
circulated round the ship, and originated many a covert 
jest at the expense of the unconscious student. 

But the night was the climax of discomfort, at least 
as far as our immediate circle was concerned. The sea 
got into our cabin in the afternoon and drenched every- 
thing, so all the ports were closed, and at night we left 
our invalid companion and her little girl sole occupants 



SUEZ TO CALCUTTA. 



39 



of the cabin, and had our beds prepared on one of the 
sky-lights and the adjacent benches. Our slumbers were 
simultaneously disturbed in the middle of the night by 
various dreams of getting wet, and we awoke to the 
consciousness that it was a dismal reality. Though we 
were a good way under the awning, and it was fine when 
we went to bed, heavy splashes of rain were driving in 
upon us ; and it was ludicrous, in the midst of the dis- 
comfort, to listen to the sleepy incoherences of one's 
companions. One announced that the sea was washing 
over us — a piece of intelligence which was received with 
great incredulity; another seemed profoundly indifferent, 
till it occurred to her that her feet were getting wet, 
when she made an alarmed retreat to her cabin ; while a 
third suggested that we should finish our slumbers under 
an umbrella. At last we managed to drag our mattrasses 
under shelter, and slejjt till the usual gruff summons, 
fc Wash deck, Sir/' startled us at 4.30, when we huddled 
our pillows, etc., together, and stumbled, sickened and 
faint, through the stifling saloon into our cabins. There 
the atmosphere at first seemed simply unendurable ; but 
after awhile sleep re-asserted its merciful dominion, and 
everything was forgotten till it was time to rise. Our 
invalid friend then opened the bulPs-eye in the port and 
admitted a breath of air, but scarcely had she done so 
when a sea broke in, drenching her little girl from head 
to foot. The child took it very quietly, and her mother 
calmly remarked, " That is the fourth wetting she has 
had since we went to bed last night ; I did not shut the 
bulFs-eye till the sea had been in three times. " 

Jan. 25th. The third day after leaving- Galle we 
anchored at Madras soon after dawn, and dozens of 
natives soon came swarming alongside in their larsre 
surf boats, or on catamarans. The former are deep and 
wide, and sewn together with rope, the better to resist 



40 



OVERLAND. 



the violence of tie furious surf ; the latter are tiny, 
narrow rafts, composed of three smallJogs lashed side 
by side, the middle one slightly depressed, and a fourth 
smaller one projecting from it, which forms the prow of 
this most primitive canoe. One, two, or even three 
natives man it, standing or kneeling to paddle, with the 
water washing over their bare limbs as it tosses in the 
swell. If it turns over, they just duck and come up 
again, right it, and resume their places, none the worse, 
as they have no clothes to spoil. Indeed, the old story 
of the African king, whose state suit consisted of a cocked 
hat and a pair of spurs, acquires an air of probability in 
these regions, where nine-tenths of the whole amount of 
clothing is generally swathed round the head, leaving the 
lithe bronze figures, with their slight rounded limbs, in 
full display. 

The shouting and jabbering of the boatmen were in- 
cessant, and the ship was filled all morning with native 
salesmen, bringing worked muslins, baskets, fans, scents, 
shells, ices, etc. Some of the dresses, for which they 
asked high prices, were elaborately worked with green 
beetles' wings in showy patterns, others embroidered in 
various styles. Then came a party of jugglers and snake- 
charmers, who squatted on the quarter-deck to exhibit 
their tricks. Some of these were exceedingly pretty, 
and some very repulsive ; their ball-play was beautiful, 
and similar feats with daggers instead of balls were 
most extraordinary. The performance altogether was 
more wonderful than anything of the kind in England, 
from the absence of clothing and other means of con- 
cealment ; but some of the tricks seem to be identical 
with the feats of itinerant jugglers at home. For in- 
stance, they breathed out fire and smoke from throats 
that glowed like furnaces, sending out sparks that ignited 
tow, and drew out of their months interminable lengths 



SUEZ TO CALCUTTA. 



41 



of silk, etc., winding them out into good sized balls of 
different colours. Another horrible feat was that of rais- 
ing a large bos from the ground, by means of strings 
ending in small metal disks, which the man inserted 
under his eyelids, and then lifted the whole weight with 
no other support. Then they produced a mango-stone, 
about four inches long, flat, and evidently very hard, and 
announced that they would make it grow into a tree. 
Accordingly, a couple of handfuls of sand were pressed 
together on the deck, and the stone inserted, watered, 
and covered with an empty basket, and other tricks 
proceeded for a few minutes. Then the basket was 
lifted, and a small bunch of delicate young leaves showed 
themselves above the sand. The same process was re- 
peated three times, the second time the leaves being fully 
developed and green ; and the third time disclosing a 
small but perfect mango tree with fruit upon it, real, 
though unripe and small, which was gathered and handed 
round. Then they pulled up the tree and showed the 
roots protruding from the nut and filled with sand. As 
an eager crowd of English spectators stood closely 
round, and every movement of the jugglers was narrowly 
watched, this performance was really mysterious. A 
snake trick, which consisted in the apparent change of a 
dry skin into a live cobra, which sat up at the word of 
command, and inflated its large head with the distinct 
spectacle- shaped mark which distinguishes its deadly 
tribe, concluded the c pnjuring tricks, and was startling 
enough. 

We were anchored too far out to see anything of the 
far-famed surf but just the white line where it broke in 
foam upon the shore. The town presents a most unin- 
teresting aspect from the sea — -flat, monotonous, and 
glaring ; and though its nearness to the sea, and also 
to the beautiful and healthy Xeilgherries, gives it real 



42 



OVERLAND. 



and great advantages over Calcutta,, it is customary in 
the other Presidencies to look down upon it, and decry 
it as "benighted." 

We started again in the afternoon, and after two 
more days of intense heat and brilliant moonlight nights, 
reached the mouth of the Hooghly about midnight, on 
Saturday, the 2 7th of January. Here, at the Sandheads, 
a pilot- ship is always moored, as no vessel can ascend the 
river except in charge of a navigator experienced in its 
dangers. Even then the shifting sandbanks make the 
course most intricate and perilous ; we had to stop in- 
cessantly for soundings to be taken, and the shouting of 
the Lascars, and the noise of the steam and the screw, 
with the occasional sight of the floating lights flitting 
across the cabin windows, effectually prevented sleep. 

The next morning Saugor Island lay on our left — a 
long, flat expanse of jungle, famed for the barbarous 
sacrifice of infants which was yearly practised there, till 
stopped by the strong arm of the British law, during 
Lord W ellesley's vigorous rule. The usual letter boat 
came off to us at Kedjaree, and we met several steam- 
tugs towing out large merchant vessels. Our ports were 
all closed, lest the ship should strike upon a sandbank, roll 
and fill, not an unfrequent accident about here ; but we 
went as fast as possible under the circumstances, hoping 
to get up to Calcutta before night. This hope, however, 
was doomed to disappointment ; for soon after morning 
service a tremendous storm of rain came on, making the 
atmosphere so thick that they could not see to steer. So 
we had to cast anchor and wait about twenty hours for 
high- tide and daylight combined — an unexpected and 
irksome delay, under which many fretted and chafed 
with an impatience scarcely to be wondered at. The 
ports were opened, so it was cool below, but very dark ; 
and on deck the rain poured down, drenching the double 



SUEZ TO CALCUTTA. 



43 



awning, and streaming along the boards so as to render 
it quite impassable. The thunder and lightning were in- 
cessant, but not violent ; and on the whole the enforced 
quiet of this last Sunday, and last day on board, was felt 
by some among us as a welcome pause before the turmoil 
and anxieties of the new life on land. 

We were under weigh again before noon on Monday, 
passed the " James and Mary/ 5 and steamed slowly up 
the turbid waters of the Hooghly. The scenery on both 
banks is very flat and uninteresting, chiefly consisting 
of brick-kilns and endless groves of cocoa palms, with 
very little variety of other foliage ; but we met several 
flue ships outward bound. The chief excitement of the 
day, however, was caused by the proceedings of the 
custom-house officers, who came on board and instituted 
a rigorous search, in comparison to which the French 
and English customs-inquisitions are a mere farce. 

Captain S , and several others, had to unpack their 

boxes on deck, in the midst of all the confusion, and 
some new electroplate, which was discovered at the 
bottom of one gentleman's portmanteau, formed a pre- 
text for continuing the examination in the most annoying 
manner. One lady had even to open her writing-desk, 
and another her bag of linen ; but fortunately we fell 
into the hands of a less pertinacious official, and had very 
little trouble. 

At last even this disagreeable business was over, and 
we sat down, for the last time together, to a capital early 
dinner. Stewards and stewardesses were duly feed, 
boxes repacked for the last time, and final arrangements 
made, and then everyone went on deck to see the open- 
ing view of Calcutta from Grarden Eeach. This suburb 
stretches along the right bank of the river, its gardens 
reaching to the water's edge, with landing-steps or 
" ghauts " to each ; but the aspect of the houses is very 



44 



OVERLAND. 



disappointing. They, in common with, all the buildings 
in Calcutta and the neighbourhood, are of brick, 
coated with thick white plaster, which soon acquires a 
discoloured and decayed appearance, from the excessive 
damp of the rainy season ; and this blackened plaster and 
the faded paint of most of the houses, gives an aspect of 
neglect and desolation which spoils the otherwise hand- 
some exteriors. They are all flat-roofed, and most of 
them with pillared verandahs to each story; and the 
gardens were gay with tropical plants and summer 
flowers. The palace of the deposed King of Oude 
occupies a considerable space in Garden Reach, sur- 
rounded by the numerous dwellings of his servants and 
wives ; and his residence there has done much to lower 
the character of the neighbourhood and the value of 
property. 

On the other side lie the extensive and beautiful 
Botanical Gardens, since terribly wasted by successive 
cyclones, and near them Bishop's College, founded by 
Bishop Middleton, for the education of Anglo-Indian 
and native youths for the ministry. It is a pretty and 
convenient building, beautifully situated; and the ex- 
treme quiet and seclusion secured by the river which 
flows between it and Calcutta, with the near neighbour- 
hood of these delightful gardens, must be great advan- 
tages for the students. 

We were now nearly opposite the landing-stage, and 
every one began to be on the look-out for friends or 
relatives. There was quite a little crowd of the Governor- 
General's scarlet liveries, and presently a boat came off 
and carried away one of our party in style. Next a 
young lady who had been educated in England, caught 
sight of the father and sister whom she had not seen for 
years, coming alongside to greet her, and she was helped 
down the gangway, and landed in a flutter of joyous 



SUEZ TO CALCUTTA. 



45 



excitement. Then came more and more boats, all con- 
taining friends too eager to wait till the ship was moored 
to the landing-stage, and the deck was a tumult of happy 
meetings and eager inquiries ; and presently a host of 
coolies and hotel t outers swarmed on board. It moved 
my heartiest indignation to see how the former poor 
fellows were treated. People hired them to carry their 
luggage along the deck to boats astern, and as they 
followed their masters through the crowd, staggering 
under heavy boxes, they were pushed, kicked, and struck 
with hand or stick by almost every gentleman (?) in whose 
way they came ; from the passengers and their friends 
down to the stewards, and even the Lascar sailors, it was 
all the same, and the poor fellows bore it like dumb beasts 
of burden, evidently accustomed to treatment that in Eng- 
land would be thought disgraceful if practised on a dog. 
I saw one heavily-laden man pushed with such violence 
that he staggered across the deck and fell, and no one, 
except ladies to whom the sight was a novel one, seemed 
either surprised or indignant at the wanton imperiousness 
of the act. Unhappily one soon gets more or less callous 
by custom in such matters ; and it is far too much the 
habit among all classes in India, to speak and act towards 
the natives, as if they were altogether an inferior race 
of animals. 

This was my first glimpse of what I afterwards found 
to be almost universal, from the highest ranks to the 
lowest, or rather from the lowest ranks almost to the 
highest. At Government House or at the Bishop's Palace, 
natives of high rank or distinguished attainments are 
received with courtesy and kindness; and occasionally 
one meets with Hindoo fellow Christians at the house of 
a clergyman or missionary, though this is far rarer than 
would be expected; but almost every member of the 
army, down to the youngest officer or lowest private. 



46 



OVERLAND. 



speaks of them with unmitigated contempt and dislike ; 
low-class Europeans insult them at every opportunity, 
and East Indians too often seek to repudiate their con- 
nection with the native race by displaying a double 
measure of rancour and disgust. I have heard a young 
lieutenant boast openly of the insolence he had displayed 
towards a native prince to whose court he was officially 
attached ; and have known the child of a common non- 
commissioned officer removed from a good school, be- 
cause one of the teachers, a well-educated and high- 
principled woman, had dark blood in her veins, and " he 
thought them as was white hadn't ought to be put under 
them as wasn't/' In fact, it is scarcely too much to say, 
that excepting by those who recognize the Christian 
duty of educating and elevating the natives of India, one 
rarely hears them spoken of, or sees them treated, as 
if any tie of common humanity linked the races together. 

At last my turn arrived for greetings and farewells ; 
a host of coolies carried off the lusfffaere, and in a few 
minutes we were fairly on Indian ground, and driving 
through the suburb of Kidderpore towards the city of 
Calcutta. 



47 



i 

cc THE CITY OF PALACES. ;? 

This drive must utterly astonish any passenger, who, 
coming by the long sea route, is unprepared by previous 
experience for the eccentricities of Eastern life. Even 
after what we had seen in Egypt and Ceylon the scene 
was startling ; and now, though years of foreign life have 
somewhat dimmed the force of first impressions, the name 
of Kidderpore bazaar conjures up a vivid picture of all 
that is most peculiar and objectionable in the native 
quarter of an Eastern town. 

Figure to yourself a long, narrow, uneven street, or 
rather lane, destitute of footpaths, and bounded on each 
side by a filthy drain, bridged over at every few yards by 
a couple of feet of brickwork or a board, for the conve- 
nience of those who frequent the shops, which form a 
continuous line along its margin. These shops are long 
low huts, consisting merely of a few upright bamboos, 
converted into pillars by a liberal plastering of mud, and 
connected by walls of rough hurdle work, daubed in like 
manner. The walls of some are nothing but coarse matt- 
ing tied together, and all are either rudely thatched 
with palm leaves or tiled with small cylindrical tiles 



43 



INLAND. 



strung on bamboos. Doors there are few, windows none, 
the whole front above the level of the counter being left 
open to the street. On this counter which extends along 
the front, squats the seller, in the midst of his goods, 
generally a lean, brown, wild-looking being ; naked, save 
for a dingy wrapper round his loins, and with his long 
unkempt black hair, either twisted into a knot behind, or 
hanging in tangled profusion round his neck. The aspect 
of the edible goods is anything but inviting. Heaps of 
sugar, dates, and various kinds of grain and native 
sweetmeats, are piled upon the dirty counter round the 
dirty man, and swarmed over by myriads of flies and 
wasps. 

There are no butchers' or fishmongers' shops to be 
seen, for the climate requires all such goods to be cleared 
off in the early morning as soon as killed ; but there are 
plenty of sweets and groceries, and shops filled with 
gaudy crockery and drapery, with fruit and vegetables, 
tobacco and charcoal, pipe stems gaily ornamented, and 
rude coloured shoes and slippers. Here and there are 
brokers' premises, where in shops and yards lie heaps of 
every kind of rubbish, old furniture, piles of rusty iron 
chains, anchors, gaudy pictures, figure-heads, old clothes, 
and other incongruous lumber, unchanged year after 
year, except by accumulating age and dust. Here on a 
spot of waste ground stands a dilapidated idol car, there 
an ill-painted and ill -spelt sign -board announces that 
Earn T)ass or Gobinchunder Shaw dispenses drugs or 
executes repairs ; but the shops are all alike, mere dirty 
stalls, and there is scarcely more variety among the 
sellers. They differ chiefly in obesity and colour, the 
majority being lanky and of a mahogany or chocolate 
hue ; but some are truly disgusting objects, corpulent to 
the last degree, their bodies bare far below the waist, and 
their colour a decided yellow, the most repulsive of 



" THE CITY OF PALACES." 



49 



all the native tints. Here and there may be seen one 
clothed in decent garments, consisting of a long tight- 
fitting shirt, open down one side of the breast, with a 
muslin scarf twisted over the shoulders, and another 
loosely swathing the hips and reaching below the knee, 
shoes on his stockingless feet, and a turban or tinselled 
skull cup on his head ; but the great majority have arms, 
legs, and body bare, and squat upon their shopboards or 
their doorsteps in attitudes strongly reminding one of 
the monkey tribes, their knees drawn up to their chins, 
and their listless hands folded round their feet, except 
when occupied with the unfailing " hookah." This name 
is applied to every kind of pipe, from the costly silver 
stand with long crimson piping and amber mouth- piece, 
to the cheapest and commonest of all, a cocoa-nut shell 
with a trumpet-shaped pipe stuck in the top to hold the 
lighted tobacco, and a hole in the side through which 
the smoke is inhaled ; but in all I believe the smoke 
passes through or over water, and European pipes are 
never seen. 

The bazaar is busy and noisy enough, especially 
towards evening, crowded with women of the lowest 
classes, bare armed and bare legged, their heads and 
bodies loosely wrapped in coarse white calico or muslin, 
or in the dark blue and crimson stuffs of the country, 
with rows of bracelets on their dusky arms, and heavy 
metal ornaments upon their ankles, and generally carry- 
ing astride upon their hips black-eyed children, abso- 
lutely naked but for the rows of coloured rings circling 
their sleek brown legs and arms. Chinese and Lascar 
sailors in dark blue shirts, respectable Hindoos in apparel 
of every variety of colour and fashion except the Euro- 
pean, and low East Indians in the shabbiest mockery of 
English dress, jostle each other in the crowded lanes. 
Parroquets swing and chatter overhead, and goats, dogs, 

4 



50 



ISLAND. 



and fowls mingle in the throng, walking in and out of 
houses at their pleasure. They often add to the bizarre 




Coolie and Baboo. 



effect of the scene, by being dyed a bright magenta — a 
colour with which the natives delight to transfigure any 
creature naturally white ; and the whole seems at first 
more like some strange phantasmagoria, the imagery of 
a hideous magic lantern or a bewildered dream, than like 
a sober, waking reality. 

Presently the scene changes ; a rickety bridge, 
spanning one of the many channels of the Hoogkly, is 
passed, and the road begins to skirt the Maidan or plain 
which serves as a public park for Calcutta. It is au 
oblong expanse of turf of considerable extent, and as 



" THE CITY OF PALACES." 



51 



absolutely flat as can be imagined, bounded on opposite 
sides by the Hooghly and the Chowringhee road, while 
Government House and the adjacent buildings enclose 
one end, and the suburb of Kidderpore skirts the other. 
Fort William, the Cathedral, the Jail, and the tall column 
called the Ochterlony Monument, stand on this plain, and 
the Lunatic Asylum, the Hospital, the High Court, the 
Bishop's Palace, the Club and the Town Hall, besides 
some of the best private residences in Calcutta, border 
it on the Chowringhee side. 

The general style of building in the European quar- 
ters of the city is imposing, and the effect would be very 
fine but for the general discolouration before referred to. 
AH the houses, except in streets devoted to shops and 
offices, stand apart in compounds planted with shrubs 
and trees ■ and the white buildings with their pillared 
verandahs rising story above story from the surrounding 
foliage, have a beautiful effect, especially by moonlight. 
Then their defects of colour are not so readily observed, 
and few under this aspect would deny to Calcutta the 
title of the "City of Palaces." Fewer still, perhaps, 
would question the appropriateness of the addition " and 
pig-sties," after a drive through the native portion of the 
town. 

The squares, of which there are several, are especially 
pleasant. Instead of the garden which invariably forms 
the centre of an English square, most of the area is 
occupied by a large tank or reservoir, banked with grassy 
slopes, edged with rows of trees, and surrounded by rail- 
ings or white balustrades. Broad flights of steps, more 
or less exposed according to the degree of drought, lead 
down to and into the water, and these steps are the con- 
stant resort of the native women, who come and go 
all day, with their large brass and earthen water-pots, 
and of the bheesties with their mussocks or water-skins. 



52 



INLAND. 



All around are the white compound walls and overhang- 
ing trees, that partly screen the adjacent houses ; and 
it is easy to imagine the fairy-like loveliness of the whole 
scene when lit up by the intensely clear, calm radiance of 
tropical moonlight, with every orb of heaven reflected on 
the unruffled surface of the sleeping water, and the tiers 
of white pillars rising from the midst of graceful foliage 
and often wreathed with rich masses of most brilliant 
creepers. 

A daylight drive, however, round even the best parts 
of Calcutta, reveals much of remaining barbarism ; 
though so rapid is the progress of improvement, that 
possibly what was true twelve months ago, may be an 
obsolete objection now. In 1866, there was scarcely an 
attempt at drainage visible throughout the city, and 
almost every street was bordered by a stagnant open 
ditch, which received the outflow of stables, and was 
openly used by the natives for the most filthy pur- 
poses, all the refuse of European houses being carted 
off nightly by the Conservancy staff and thrown into 
the river. The obstacles in the way of any satisfac- 
tory drainage were enormous, owing partly to the want 
of fall, and partly to the impossibility of effectually 
superintending native labourers in such a work, which 
required unusual correctness and stability to withstand 
the enormous rush of water at certain seasons of the 
year. 

The common coolies who must perform the bulk of 
all these undertakings, are for the most part mere beasts 
of burden, with just enough intelligence to spare them- 
selves any avoidable exertion, and no thought or care 
for the results of perfunctory and dishonest labour. The 
native contractors are shrewd enough in every petty 
trick of trade, but they seldom appear to have the 
faintest glimmer of honest principle, and if they can 



"the city of palaces/' 



53 



make or save a few rupees by bad material or imperfect 
workmanship, it matters little to them whether the work 
stand or fall. For the most part they have neither name 
nor character that will outweigh in their estimation the 
prospect of the paltriest gain, and many of their East 
Indian compeers bear a reputation scarcely higher. The 
English engineer ought to be always at his post, with a 
constitution that can defy heat and fatigue, an acuteness 
that cunning cannot baffle, and a patience that no amount 
of indolence or perversity can exhaust. The first instinct 
of the Bengal coolie is to get his rice and his hookah, 
the second, to lie down and sleep at every available 
opportunity; but beyond these two it would be difficult to 
make any general statement. Poor helpless creatures ! 
God forbid that Christians should despise them, or forget 
the human brotherhood that makes it binding upon the 
higher to try and raise the lower members of the race ; 
but it is trying and hardening in the extreme to live 
among them, and be hourly irritated by their ignorance 
and idleness, with no common tongue in which to 
convey any satisfactory direction or reproof; and it 
is to be feared that the unmistakable language of 
kicks and blows is too often resorted to, in default of any 
other. 

Certainly there is something in the extreme degrada- 
tion of the lowest classes that is apt to create the same 
sense of impatient annoyance, as some of the disgusting 
antics of the monkey tribe ; they seem such a humiliating 
caricature of human nature. I shall never forget one 
man who had been sent to do some trifling job of 
carpentry in one of my rooms. He was an undersized, 
animal-looking fellow, with a sooty complexion not 
common among even the lowest natives, and like most 
inferior " mistaries 33 or craftsmen, his only clothing was 
an exceedingly minute waistcloth of dingy rag. In the 



54 



INLAND. 



course of the operation lie cut his finger with a chisel, 
and instead of hurrying away to get it tied up, he 
squatted on the floor, holding it up for me to see. and 
jabbering piteously as the drops fell on the clean new 
matting, with exactly the look and gesture of a wounded 
monkey. 

Notwithstanding all these hindrances, a vast system 
of underground drainage has been excavated in the 
European portion of Calcutta, within the last few years • 
and if the scheme be ever carried out in its entirety, 
and the sewage applied to the fertilization of a barren 
district at some distance from the city, it will be a 
gigantic monument of European perseverance under 
difficulties. 

Already water has been brought through pipes from 
the unpolluted stream above Calcutta, thoroughly filtered, 
and carried all over the town by engineering skill. 
There are taps at short distances along all the chief 
streets, so that the priceless boon of pure water has been 
conferred upon every inhabitant of the capital, and this 
alone must do away with one of the most fertile sources 
of disease. The lower class of Hindoos seem absolutely 
insensible to ill odours and foul water, so the prevalence 
of zymotic disease among them is scarcely to be wondered 
at. Often on summer nights, when the exhalations from 
the noisome ditches above-mentioned were most unbear- 
able, I have seen numbers of natives who had come 
out of their huts for the sake of coolness, lying asleep 
wrapped in their sheets, upon the planks laid for foot- 
ways over the abominable mud. Often, too, in driving 
through native quarters, I have seen women walk into 
a stagnant pool as dark as any English horsepond, take 
up two or three successive handfuls of the water to rinse 
their mouths, and then proceed to duck overhead re- 
peatedly, and wash themselves and their clothes with 



"the city of palaces. " 



55 



as much apparent satisfaction, as if the black fluid were 
a crystal stream. 

Even in 1866, Chowringhee, and one or two of the 
chief streets and squares, were tolerably exempt from evil 
odours; but elsewhere "palaces and pig-sties/ 5 English 
houses and native huts, were indiscriminately jumbled 
together, amid stenches indescribable. Each English 
house stands back at some little distance from the street 
in its own compound, of which the road -ward side is 
bounded by kitchens, servants' houses, stables, etc., all 
under the old system discharging their drainage into the 
outer ditch. Footpaths there were none; and though 
many have been made since the closing of the drains, 
they are of comparatively little use ; first, because they 
are intersected at every few yards by the carriage-drives 
up to the houses ; and secondly, because the town 
authorities have planted trees at short intervals in the 
middle of the paths, and surrounded them by fences 
which effectually obstruct the way. One use, however, 
has been discovered by the natives, who find the public 
footpaths in the vicinity of their dwellings eminently 
safe and convenient spots for their diurnal repose. Con- 
stantly in driving round Calcutta, not in back lanes, 
but in the best and most public thoroughfares, one 
sees them, closely enveloped, head and all, in dingy 
sheets, reposing on charpoys, which completely block 
the footpath. These charpoys are bedsteads of the 
simplest and cheapest kind, a mere slight frame of 
rough wood, with coarse netting stretched across it, 
and so light as to be easily lifted in and out of the 
dwelling. 

As to any delicacy about taking his siesta, or indeed 
doing anything in public, nothing is farther from the 
Hindoo mind, and it is a perpetual source of wonder and 
amusement to see the unembarrassed ease with which 



56 



INLAND. 



employments of a personal nature are carried on in the 
most crowded streets. One can scarcely drive through 
the town in the forenoon without seeing people squatting 
by the drains and brushing their teeth with a primitive 
instrument of split wood ; others standing near a tank 
and pouring water over their heads till it streams from 
their limbs and garments, and then deliberately drying 




In Calcutta at noonday. 



themselves and changing their scanty apparel in full view 
of all passers-by, or walking home with their drenched 
muslin wrappers clinging to their skins; others again 
seated in front of their dwellings, or under a shady tree, 
and prosecuting entomological researches on the heads of 
their companions with commendable zeal and persever- 



"the city of palaces. 



57 



ance. Indeed, this pursuit appears to excite a livelier 
interest than any other, and is one of their great 
resources for wiling away the time which they cannot 
spend in sleep. 

Shaving is another operation constantly performed in 
the open street, and some of the modifications of the 
barber's art are remarkable. The respectable classes, 
university students, baboos and sircars, who act as 
clerks, accountants, etc., generally go about bare-headed, 
with hair unshaven, but cropped so closely that it has 
the appearance of black plush; and the lower work- 
people, coolies, etc., either have it long and twisted into 
a knot behind, or hanging in wild confusion ; or they 
shave the head totally or in part, leaving a round patch 
on the crown, or a broad band from ear to ear behind. 
It is very wonderful to see them go about under a sun 
that would be certain death to a European, with their 
bare scalps shining under its rays, or with only the pro- 
tection of close-cropped hair; and the more so because 
others appear to think it necessary to swathe their heads 
with as large a bundle of rags as they can muster. The 
genteel head-dress in Bengal is a curious, very flat turban, 
shaped like a small soup-plate, with a very wide, thick 
rim, the part that covers the head being merely a thin 
skull-cap. This is generally white, though sometimes 
scarlet, dark blue, or black, and being often crossed 
diagonally by bright-coloured bands, the effect is good, 
though not nearly so picturesque as the full white muslin 
turbans of Madras, and the richer head-gear of the North 
West and other parts. No upper servant would venture 
to appear in his master's presence or to wait at table 
without his "puggree;" respect, in India, as in other 
Eastern countries, being shown by covering the head and 
putting off the shoes. 

Near Government House are a few streets, chiefly 



58 



INLAND. 



composed of English shops, where, for prices ranging 
from about double those at home, one can purchase 
almost everything of the newest make and fashion. 
Some of these shops,, especially for glass, china, uphol- 
stery, drapery, books, and imported groceries, rival the 
best establishments in any English town ; but the high 
prices, above all for shoes and millinery, drive people of 
moderate means to native dealers. One narrow tortuous 
lane is occupied chiefly by the shops of Chinese shoe- 
makers, who are accounted the best workmen in this 
line ; other quarters, as the Old and New China Bazaars, 
are full of native warehouses and shops, where goods 
of various kinds are stored for sale in the midst of 
dirt and confusion ; while Lall Bazaar and Bow Bazaar 
are composed almost entirely of furniture shops and the 
lowest public-houses, mingled with some few European 
dwellings of respectable size and character. The dis- 
reputable drinking dens of the former place are the 
notorious resort of sailors of the worst class, and of every 
nationality. 

Government House itself is an imposing building 1 , 
facing across the wide expanse of the Maidan, and 
bounded on other sides by some of the chief streets, its 
great lion-surmounted gateways guarded by swarthy 
sentries in a half-European, half- Asiatic uniform. A 
huge dome surmounts its centre, from which the four 
wings radiate in bold curves, the lofty pillars of the upper 
story carrying out the prevailing local style of architec- 
ture ; and the whole, with its broad flights of steps 
and cannon- guarded enclosure, bearing a noble and 
stately aspect. But, like all the rest, it is mere 
brick and plaster, and gets wofally discoloured during 
the rains. The Cathedral is the same, plaster within 
and without, and wretchedly adapted for hearing, but 
finely situated, and surrounded by noble trees, under 



u THE CITY OF PALACES." 



59 



which wait scores of carriages while divine worship is 
proceeding. 

Walking to church, even from the shortest distance, 
is a physical impossibility, except to early or late services, 
and even then very few attempt it. Some churches make 
a practice of sending round vehicles for their poorer 
members, who might otherwise find it impossible to 
come; and the same plan is followed by some of the 
Sunday and day-schools. 

Undoubtedly the difficulty is exaggerated by indolence 
and by the influence of the native idea that walking is 
derogatory to anyone's respectability, but still it is a real 
and serious one. Carriages are hired by the hour, the 
authorized rate being about Is. 6d. for the first hour, and 
8d. for any hour or fraction of an hour beyond ; and as 
the vehicle must wait the passenger's return, the inevit- 
able 2s. or 2s. 6d. is a heavy tax on an ill furnished 
purse. 

The hack carriages themselves are worthy of a brief 
description. The best resemble an English fly, with 
Venetians instead of windows, and the worst are like no 
other vehicle under the sun, at least as far as my ex- 
perience goes. Too low for a tall person to sit upright, 
and too narrow to be occupied by more than a couple of 
individuals with any comfort, they are furnished, instead 
of windows, with sliding shutters, which have to be 
pushed back to admit of ingress or egress, and which, 
when closed, exclude both light and air. There is no 
door, and one has to step into the well provided for one's 
legs, over the side of the vehicle, which is as high as the 
seat, so the discomfort of this mode of entrance and exit 
may readily be imagined. Below these even, there is a 
lower depth of shabbiness and discomfort, but as such 
are only used by natives, I need not waste words upon 
them. Superior vehicles, with decent appointments, can 



60 



INLAND. 



also be hired, but only for the day or half-day, at extra- 
vagant rates ; so the second-class gharries above described 
are the vehicles in general use. 

The horses — for most of these delightful vehicles 
boast two — are miserable beyond description ; small, 
gaunt, neglected, galled brutes, such as one would never 
see in England except in a gipsy's or costermonger's cart ; 
and the harness corresponds, often consisting only of a 
shabby collar, and an arrangement of ropes and rusty 
chains. The driver maybe dressed with some attempt at 
decency, or he may not ; but the latter contingency is 
the more probable. In that case his whole attire will 
probably consist of a bundle of dirty rag twisted round 
his head, a piece of dingy calico thrown across his body, 
and another wrapped round his loins, his badge tied 
round his bare arm, and clumsy, peaked shoes on his 
feet. A familiar, in similar apparel, sits beside him on 
the box, or mounts guard on the foot-board behind, and 
not one word of English can the precious pair muster 
between them. The very names of streets and public 
buildings, and the numbers of houses, have to be trans- 
lated into the vernacular before they can understand your 
directions; and this is no easy matter, for the native 
names have often no correspondence with the English 
ones, but are derived from some trivial or forgotten cir- 
cumstance in the antecedents of the site, or the appear- 
ance of the building. Thus Elysium Row is Nautch Ghar 
ka Gully, because a theatre once stood there ; one great 
public school is Panch Kotee, or the Five Houses ; and 
another, Gaokhana, or the Cow-house, from a former use of 
the site ; Wellesley Street is the Madrassa ka Rasti, on 
account of the native college; Victoria Square is Bahmun 
Bustee, from a Brahmin settlement once located on its 
site ; and so on, to the utter despair of any unfortunate 
foreigner who finds himself adrift in a hack carriage 



" THE CITY OF PALACES. 



61 



with no interpreter at hand. I have known strangers, 
starting with the fond belief that their drivers knew 
where to take them, driven about literally for hours 
in the vain endeavour to discover places within ten 
minutes' walk of their own door. The Old Mission 
Church is the Lall Girja, because at some forgotten 
period it was coloured red; and St. John's the Patla 
ka Girja, from its marble pavement, once unique in 
Calcutta. 

The Martiniere, the Panch Kotee above-mentioned, 
is a magnificent school, founded by the liberality of a 
French soldier of fortune in the " good old times.''' 
Upwards of one hundred orphan boys and seventy girls 
of respectable European or Eurasian descent are main- 
tained, clothed and taught by this splendid foundation ; 
and a still larger number of ordinary pupils, admitted at 
a moderate rate of payment, share the benefits of the 
institution, receiving an education equal to that of any 
middle class school in England. The noble buildings 
devoted to these schools, standing apart in their exten- 
sive compounds, are conspicuous objects in the Southern 
Circular Road; and the Doveton College, the Young 
Ladies' Institution, the Jesuit College, and the Loretto 
Convent School, rank with them among the first educa- 
tional institutions in India. Besides these, the European 
Orphan Asylum, the Calcutta Girls' School, the Free 
School, and others, board and educate large numbers 
of- English and Anglo-Indian children ; and there are 
numerous Alission Schools for natives : so the difficulty 
of finding any of these Institutions is extreme, unless 
acquainted with the native synonym. 

As for English surnames, few indeed are the servants 
who know those of their own masters, and fewer still 
those who can pronounce them intelligibly; and incon- 
ceivable annoyance, confusion, and delay often arise from 



62 



INLAND. 



this seemingly trifling difficulty. No message, except of 
the very simplest character, such as an inquiry after 
health, can ever be sent by a servant, and this necessitates 
a wearisome multiplication of petty notes or " chits/' 
which is one of the standing worries of Indian life. 
You are engaged with visitors, perhaps, or lying down, 
and a note is brought in. You take it, and send word to 
the bearer to wait. Another conies, and yet another, 
before you are at leisure for the answers, and behold, 
when you send down your reply, no one can tell to whom 
it should be given. The bearers are there, perhaps lying 
asleep under the stairs, or sitting in their favourite atti- 
tude in the porch ; but, out of half-a-dozen, three probably 
have not the faintest idea who sent them, being mere 
coolies hired for a few pice for the single errand ; and 
two may know their masters' names, or at any rate their 
directions, but cannot pronounce the former, or give any 
but the native equivalent for the latter. The sixth is 
probably a chuprassie, or badge-bearer, having his 
master's name or office engraved on a large brass 
medallion on his scarf, and with him of course there is 
no difficulty. As to the others, you decide as best you 
can, and perhaps eventually discover that two out of the 
five have gone wrong, and that the answer to some 
urgent query has been mis-sent to a distant suburb. 
But the petty difficulties that beset one in dealing 
with native servants, form too important an element 
in Anglo-Indian life to be treated of incidentally at the 
end of a chapter, so our next shall be devoted to domestic 
topics. 



63 



II 

ENGLISH HOUSEKEEPING IN CALCUTTA. 

One of the first necessaries in housekeepings either at 
home or abroad, is, of course, a house to keep ; and this 
in Calcutta is a serious matter, for the rents are enormous. 
If one can submit to live among native neighbours, in one 
of the noisy streets or narrow lanes that intersect the city, 
a good, roomy house may be obtained at a comparatively 
reasonable rate ; but the objections on the ground of both 
health and comfort are very great, and most Europeans, 
if compelled to the alternative, would rather content 
themselves with a single floor in a better part of the 
capital, or occupy rooms in one of the large boarding 
houses. These, however, are also enormously expensive, 
ranging from £10 or £15 per mensem for a single person, 
with no private sitting-room, up to £60 or £70 for a suite 
of rooms with board and attendance. Respectable lodgings, 
such as abound in English towns, are totally unknown ; 
but two or more families often compromise matters by 
taking a house between them ; and young men engaged in 
business, but with no home in Calcutta, club together in 
like manner, so as to make one establishment answer for five 
or six. This is more feasible than it would be in England, 
from the universal employment of male domestics ; and 
some of these " chummeries " are kept up in very hand- 
some style. 



64 



INLAND. 



We will take, however, for our typical householder 
some young professional man, of fair standing in society, 
but limited means ; one who in any ordinary English town 
would take a house renting at about £40 a year, which a 
couple of neat maidservants could keep in perfect order. 
For anything like a corresponding dwelling in Calcutta, 
he must pay in rent and taxes about £20 a month, and 
the servants required are legion. 

In the first place, there must be a khansamah, or 
steward, to buy the daily food, and see that it is properly 
cooked and placed upon the table. In a very small family 
he may condescend to fulfil the duties of cook and table 
servant also ; but in this case a musalchee, or kitchen- 
man, is absolutely necessary to assist him. 

It is impossible for Europeans to do their own market- 
ing in Calcutta. In the first place, one ought to be at the 
bazaar soon after 5 a.m., and this bazaar is probably a 
mile or more from home ; and in the second, no one who 
had once tried the experiment of going would ever wish 
to repeat it. The dealers in meat, fish, vegetables, 
poultry, eggs, etc., combine with the whole race of khan- 
samahs against the dangerous innovations of sahibs and 
mem sahibs visiting their territories, and unite in asking 
the most exorbitant prices for every article. The noise, 
the confusion, the cool impudence of some of the salesmen, 
and the bewildering solicitations of others, with the utter 
impossibility of arriving at the right price of anything, 
would make one trial sufficient for the most strong minded 
of English housekeepers. Nor is it pleasant to expose 
oneself to the contempt of an inferior people by doing 
what runs counter to their strongest prejudices. 

Then, again, there is a recognized principle in Bengal, 
and probably throughout India, called " dustoor," or 
custom, which fully accounts for native repugnance to 
European interference in such matters. It simply means 



ENGLISH HOUSEKEEPING IN CALCUTTA. 



G5 



that on every article purchased in their several depart- 
ments your servants have a right to levy a percentage 
for their own advantage. We hear something of such 
practices in England, but India is the country to see them 
in perfection. If your khansamah happens to be an honest 
man, he will content himself with a legitimate rate of 
profit ; if not, he fleeces you right and left till you find 
him out by comparing notes with more experienced 
friends ; and then you may either try with more or less 
success to keep down his charges, or part with him, and 
repeat the same process with another. Any way, one 
thing is certain, you will get neither enlightenment nor 
profit by trying to bargain for yourself. 

The most modest establishment must therefore contain 
two or three servants in the victualling department — 
khansamah, kitmutghar, and musalchee, or bawarchee — 
i.e., steward, table-servant, kitchenman, and cook ; and 
all these must be Mahometans, because the religion of the 
Hindoos forbids their touching our food, or even the plate 
from which an Englishman has eaten. The duties of 
housemaid are divided in like manner between three 
individuals in a small family, or three sets of servants 
in a large one. The bearer dusts the rooms and attends 
to the lamps ; the sweeper (mehtar) does the work 
implied by his name, and every dirty job about the 
house ; and the durwan sits in a lodge at the gate, and 
admits or refuses visitors and others according to his 
orders. 

Among these, the khansamah, head bearer, and 
durwan are the authorised claimants of u dustoor 9 * in 
their various departments, the said dustoor, of course, 
really coming out of their masters 5 pocket. If a pedlar or 
embroidery seller comes to the house, and you purchase 
anything, he is mulcted before he leaves the premises ; if 
you send for a hack carriage, the driver must pay dustoor 



66 



INLAND. 



to the darwan before lie drives away. It is true that the 
sum is often infinitesimal, the rate being about two pice 
(Id.) in the rupee, which may be reckoned at 2s. , but the 
sense of cheatery attending it makes it an irritating tax 
upon the buyer ; and another petty imposition of the same 
kind is even more annoying. There is no such thing 
as a delivery of parcels from any shop in Calcutta, 
either European or native, but everything you purchase, 
unless conveyed home in your own carriage, is sent by 
coolies, whom you have to pay. 

One durwan is enough in most establishments, but 
unless the household is a very small one, more than one 
bearer is required, and at least one male and one female 
sweeper. Europeans whose means are straitened some- 
times pay the latter a small sum to attend twice in the day, 
instead of keeping them regularly in their service ; but this 
is inconvenient, because, if any sudden demand should arise 
for their peculiar work, no other servant will touch it for 
fear of losing caste. A bearer may pick up shreds of paper 
or similar litter with his fingers, but he will on no account 
handle the implements of a sweeper, much less do any 
of his really offensive work. 

Another absolutely necessary servant is the bheesty, 
or water-carrier, though his work in Calcutta is gradually 
being superseded in a great measure by the new water 
supply. Formerly, one or more bheesties were required 
for every house, to fetch water from the neighbouring 
tanks for bathing, washing, cooking, etc. Even a small 
garden requires one mallee, or gardener, and a large one 
several, if it is to be kept in anything like order, for grass 
and weeds spring up so rapidly, especially in the rainy 
season, that the mere keeping of the paths is work for 
one man ; especially as it is one of their immutable customs 
to take two hours' leave in the middle of the day, and quit 
work at sunset, besides seizing every available opportunity 



ENGLISH HOUSEKEEPING IN CALCUTTA. 



67 



for going to sleep in the outhouses or investigating each 
other's heads. 

Then the sahib must have his horse and buggy to 




Cooks and Water-bearer. 



drive to office and back, and. the mem sahib her carriage 
and horse or horses for shopping, calling, and the never- 
failing evening drive. Two servants more, a coachman 
and syce, are indispensable for these ; and if there be a 
child or children in the family, an ayah and an extra bearer 
are required; while in wealthier households each child 
will have its separate attendants. Hindoo men are 
wonderfully gentle and patient nurses, and it is curious to 
see these dark, mustachioed, turbaned fellows walking to 
and fro with unwearied patience, hushing the tiniest babes 
to sleep. But as the little ones grow older, the conse- 
quences of leaving them in charge of native servants. 



68 



INLAND. 



ignorant of even the elements of Christian decency and 
morals, are often most deplorable. The idea of any native 
attempting to control an English child, except by coaxing, 
never enters either their heads or the parents' ; so the 
poor little things grow up too often passionate and self- 
willed, accustomed to disobedience, and trained to deceit, 
if not to actual vice. This is one of the sorest anxieties 
that beset an English home in India ; for a mother cannot 
possibly have her children always with her, and the utmost 
she can feel sure of in native servants is, that they will 
shield the little ones from outward danger. 

The expense of such an establishment is fortunately 
not at all proportionate to its numbers, from an English 
point of view. Wages are considerably higher than they 
used to be ; but even now the average pay of each servant 
is not above fourteen or fifteen shillings a month, out of 
which they keep themselves and their families. None of 
them, except the durwan, and perhaps a bearer and an 
ayah, sleep on the premises ; and none, except the 
sweepers, who are outcasts, and glad of any leavings, 
would touch your food : so the expense of keeping them 
is limited to their actual wages, unless the master chooses 
to clothe any of the upper servants in a distinctive livery. 
Their own dress is neat and sufficient, and admirably 
suited to the climate, consisting, if they are Mahometans, 
of wide, long, petticoat-like drawers, and a kind of shirt, 
which fits closely to the arms and body, and is fastened 
on the left side of the breast, reaching below the knee, and 
open on both sides from the hips downwards. The flat 
turban above described covers the head, and a piece of 
muslin several yards in length twisted into a rope-like 
girdle is wrapped round and round the loins. The feet 
are always bare, so that their movements, especially 
when waiting at table, are singularly noiseless. A 
Hindoo bearer's dress is much the same, except that 



ENGLISH HOUSEKEEPING IN CALCUTTA. 



G9 



instead of the nether garment he wears a piece of calico 
or muslin wrapped in a peculiar manner round the lower 
part of the body and reaching to the knee, and his upper 
vestment opens on the right instead of the left side of the 
breast. This clothing being all spotlessly white, contrasts 
well with their swarthy skins, and looks delightfully clean 
and cool. Many Europeans, however, adopt some modifi- 




Bearer and Coolie. 



cation as a livery for their servants, having their turbans 
and sashes twisted with some gay colour, or giving them 
in the cold season tunics of bright cloth or merino, and 



70 



INLAND. 



turbans to correspond. Some of these half civilized 
costumes are exceedingly picturesque, and nothing can be 
imagined more elegant than some of the equipages that 
turn out in Calcutta, with two of these gaily attired 
servants on the box, and two more erect on the foot- 
board, or running at the horses' heads with long white 
flyflaps of Thibetian cow's tail streaming over their 
shoulders. 

The private houses in Calcutta are all built on one 
general plan, with so little modification, except in size and 
detail, that one description will suffice for all. All stand 
back more or less from the street, shut in by compound 
walls or railings, durwan's lodge, outhouses, and stables ; 
and almost all have a large heavy porch, often hung with 
masses of creepers, and wide enough to shelter more than 
one carriage at a time. A flight of wide, low steps leads 
up to large folding doors, which stand open all day, 
except in the cold season, and display a wide, paved hall 
or ante-room, with the staircase up one side. Opening on 
this are two or three wide and lofty doorways, with their 
folding doors fastened back, and purdahs, or door curtains, 
hung across about two thirds of the height, so as to leave 
a free circulation of air above, while affording a screen 
below. One of these probably leads to the dining-room, 
a large, square apartment, with folding windows the same 
size as the doors, also fastened back, and a measure of 
light and air supplied by heavy Venetian shutters. On 
each side of the room other doors, open in like manner, 
with their purdahs swaying in the air, lead to the bed- 
rooms, with their adjacent bath-rooms. Upstairs, the 
arrangements are similar — an ante-room, and a drawing- 
room surrounded by bed-rooms, except where it opens on 
a wide and lofty verandah, supported by pillars, and 
screened from the sun by moveable bamboo blinds. Some- 
times, but not usually, there is a third story, and the flat 



ENGLISH HOUSEKEEPING IN CALCUTTA, 



71 



balustraded or battlemented roof is always readied by a 
narrow staircase, and affords the coolest and airiest spot 
for evening exercise. This is all in a house of ordinary 
size, and it is obvious at once that very little of English 
comfort or privacy can be looked for in such an abode. 
In some cases the lower story is noi high enough to be 
used for dwelling or sleeping-rooms, its chief purpose 
being to keep the upper floor from damp • and dining and 
drawing-room must then be both upstairs. 

The doors must all be open day and night ; by day, 
for a free circulation of such air as there is, and by night, 
that the south breeze, which is the very breath of life in 
Calcutta, may blow through all the rooms : so that the 
bed-rooms are generally only screened from the verandah, 
the sitting-rooms, or each other, by Venetian doors or 
purdahs, and woe to the unhappy European who can only 
sleep in comfort with bars and bolts about him. The few 
servants who remain on the premises merely roll them- 
selves in a sheet, and lie down on a mat spread wherever 
it may be convenient, going to the nearest tank to bathe 
and perform their scanty toilet ; so that servants 7 bed- 
rooms find no place in a Calcutta household. Neither 
can there be any quiet nursery or school-room, where the 
children may be out of sight and hearing for a while ; for 
even in the rare case of there being a room to spare for 
such a purpose, there is no keeping them to it, or shutting 
out the sounds of play and naughtiness, and no possibility 
of securing to elder children the opportunity for undis- 
turbed study. 

A good school is a far better place than most Indian 
homes ; but even there, on the other hand, is the terrible 
danger of association with others who may have imbibed 
the worst tendencies from the influence and example of 
native servants. No wonder that at any cost of separa- 
tion and expense Anglo-Indian parents will, if possible. 



72 



INLAND. 



send their children to the purer moral and physical atmos- 
phere of home. 

The kitchen of an Indian dwelling is never under the 
same roof, for the heat and smell of the cookery would be 
unbearable. It is as well, perhaps, for other reasons, that 
it should be away ; for few Europeans could relish their 
food if they saw anything of the process of preparation. 
The results, if the domestics are up to their work, are 
undeniably good ; and both plain and made dishes, but 
especially the latter, would compare favourably with any 
cookery commonly seen in England. But as a native 
never uses any other implement when fingers will do, and 
is utterly unfettered by any of our little prejudices as to 
cleanliness and propriety, the less one sees or thinks of the 
preliminary operations the better for one's peace of mind. 
" Where ignorance is bliss* 'tis folly to be wise." But 
these notes are intended for English readers, and one or 
two anecdotes may help them to appreciate home com- 
forts, and to judge mercifully of the shortcomings of an 
English kitchen. 

An English gentleman, strolling round his compound 
one evening, had the curiosity to look into the cook-room, 
where coffee was preparing, and was irate at finding one 
of his socks in use as a strainer. His hasty rebuke was 
received with profound apologies, the cook confessing that 
he had done very wrong ; but indeed he would not have 
taken the sahib's stocking if it had not been a dirty one ! 

This is a current story in Calcutta, and I cannot vouch 
for its truth, though I can for its exceeding probability. 
What follows rests on the authority of a personal friend, 
who was staying at the time in the family where it 
occurred. 

The lady of the house, provoked at the constant dis- 
appearance of all the cloths given out for kitchen use, had 
unadvisedly declared at the last issue of these articles that 



ENGLISH HOUSEKEEPING IN CALCUTTA. 



73 



they must last a certain time, till which she should give 
out no others. The time had not expired, and on the day 
in question there was an unaccountable delay in the 
appearance of the pudding. After waiting till his patience 
was exhausted, the master rose from table and strode 
across into the kitchen to ascertain the cause. There he 
found the bawarchee in a state of nudity, even more com- 
plete than is usual with these worthies in their own 
domains, anxiously boiling the expected pudding in 
one end of his waistcloth, which he had ungirded for the 
purpose ! 

Another lady, in a colder district on the hills, re- 
tained her English taste for bread and butter puddings 
till she happened one luckless day to go into her kitchen 
at the time of preparation. The cook was seated, as 
* usual, on the ground, one foot extended towards the fire 
with a lump of butter stuck on the great toe ; and from 
this he was expeditiously spreading slices of bread to 
fill the dish beside him ! 

After facts like these, one can believe anything of a 
similar nature; but it is better for one's tranquillity not 
to suffer the imagination to dwell on such topics in India. 
Dwellers in far-off lands must carry out the adage, 
" What the eye does not see the heart does not grieve 
for/' and judge what is placed before them on present 
merits rather than possible antecedents. 

The fact that every dish has to be carried some 
distance from the cook-room to the table, and the constant 
use of the punkah during meals, make it necessary that 
everything intended to be warm should be served on hot- 
water plates. The servants are admirable waiters, watchful, 
noiseless, and deft in their movements ; and as they do 
not profess to wait on more than their own masters and 
mistresses, there are always a good many in attendance 
when one has company. Each couple, or even each single 



74 



INLAND. 



guest, brings his own kitniutgkar, "who stands behind his 
chair, and takes care that he is supplied — an arrangement 
which saves much trouble to the host and hostess, and 
adds considerably to the tout ensemble of an Indian dinner 
party. The long table, brilliantly lighted by massive 
lamps, its snowy drapery relieved by vases and epergnes 
loaded with gorgeous flowers, and the gay dress of the 
guests, backed by the spotless tunics and turbans, and the 
dark bearded faces of the noiseless waiters, always 
present an attractive aspect. 

The punkah swings vigorously overhead, and through 
windows and doorways, open on all sides to the ground, 
steals in the blessed night breeze, laden with the rich 
odours of jessamine-scented flowers, and the shrill song of 
countless grasshoppers and crickets. Another and less 
pleasant sound comes, too, at intervals — the yell of packs 
of jackals beginning their nightly rounds, — perhaps the 
most hideous and discordant sound that startles the ear of 
night. Why these animals are tolerated in the European 
capital of India is best known to those in authority. It 
is said that they are too useful as scavengers to be 
destroyed ; but surely the work might be done in a way 
less disgraceful to our civilization, and this crying nuisance 
swept away. As it is, the unclean beasts lodge under the 
lower stories of houses raised a foot or two from the 
ground to secure them from damp, or among the tombs 
in deserted burying-grounds, and come forth at night 
in packs to forage for offal, creeping under closed 
srates, and howling beneath the windows of startled 
sleepers with a clamour only to be compared to the 
most frightful uproar of dogs and cats, with a touch 
of the donkey's peculiar note thrown in to intensify the 
discord. 

Elegant as are the appointments of many drawing- 
rooms in Calcutta, there is a certain bareness and want of 



ENGLISH HOUSEKEEPING IN CALCUTTA. 



75 



finish to an English eye, chiefly arising from the absence 
of all unnecessary drapery, and from the walls being never 
papered, but washed with some cool tint, and finished off 
with stencilled borders. Papering would be useless, owing 
to the damp of the rainy season, and window curtains worse 
than useless, obstructing the air in calm weather, and in 
storms endangering every light article within reach. In 
bedrooms this bareness is still more striking, because the 
walls are often only whitened, and their great height gives 
them a barn-like aspect, especially as all the beams of 
every ceiling must be exposed to view, in order that the 
ravages of the white ant may be more readily detected. 
One seldom sees the toilet draperies dear to an English 
lady's eye, for the very sufficient reason that they would 
only serve as a hiding-place for cockroaches, centipedes, 
et hoc genus omne ; and the bed stands in the middle of 
the room, a wide, bare couch, minus fringes, curtains, and 
valances, and often with its feet set in stone saucers filled 
with salt water, to prevent the invasion of all wingless 
insects. The defence against winged ones is very com- 
plete. Four slight posts, screwing into the corners of the 
bedstead, support a light frame, across which a piece of 
coarse, strong net is stretched, forming a complete, but 
transparent, tester. All round this is sewed a piece of the 
same wide net, which reaches below the mat trass \ and 
w 7 hen tucked in, encloses the sleeper as it were in a trans- 
parent box, effectually keeping out all intruders. If, how- 
ever, the servant is careless in letting down the curtains, 
and allows a mosquito to remain inside, or if the occupant 
of the bed is not speedy and skilful in untucking just 
sufficient space for entrance, and instantly closing the 
aperture, or if there is the smallest rent in the net (three 
not improbable contingencies), farewell to all chance of 
tranquil rest ! The tiny foe, no larger than an English 
gnat, hovers about, sounding his shrill trumpet, and 



76 



INLAND. 



alighting incessantly wherever any exposed surface tempts 
his onslaught. In vain the sufferer buffets face and 
hands in the endeavour to annihilate the enemy, in vain 
determines to be philosophical and sleep — the exaspe- 
rating buzz is too much for endurance ; and it is only 
when the bloodthirsty foes have had their fill, and settle 
bloated and torpid into silence, that there is any hope of 
rest. 

The floors of most Calcutta rooms are covered with a 
cool, pretty kind of matting, woven of a species of long, 
tough grass, which retains a pale green hue, and even a 
faint, fragrant smell, for a considerable time. In other 
parts of the country, a much coarser and more lasting sort 
is manufactured of the split covering of a kind of reed, or 
of whole canes the thickness of one's finger, fastened in 
parallel rows by string run through holes drilled through 
them j and in some places the floors are covered with a 
coarse blue and white checked cotton cloth; but carpets 
are very seldom seen, and, indeed, are most unsuitable to 
the climate. All the floors, however, require a covering 
of some sort, owing to their peculiar nature. Wood 
is not often used in their construction, except for the 
large beams which support the upper floors, and which 
are always left unceiled for the reason given above. These 
reach from wall to wall, at intervals of about two feet, 
and support small, short rafters placed about eight inches 
apart, and just long enough to rest on them securely. On 
the latter are laid strong tiles, about a foot square, fitting 
closely together, and, over them, a second layer, so dis- 
posed that the joins fall differently everywhere. All these 
being mortared in their places, a quantity of brick- dust 
" and fragments mixed with lime is spread upon them ; and 
the surface, being well moistened with water, is beaten 
with little wooden rammers into a sort of concrete, which 
wears well enough when protected from friction, but if 



ENGLISH HOUSEKEEPING IN CALCUTTA. 



77 



trodden when uncovered and dry, soon resolves itself into 
its original constituents. 

All the floors, upstairs and down, as well as the roofs, 
are generally made of this material, sometimes dammered, 
or dressed with a kind of asphalt, especially on roofs, 
which are otherwise very liable to leakage after the fierce 
drought of summer. For bath-rooms it answers admirably, 
as the constant damp keeps it in good order ; for an Indian 
bath-room is something very different to its English 
representative. The washing-stand, with all its appliances, 
generally stands here, instead of in the adjoining bed- 
room ; but the bathing apparatus proper is of the most 
primitive description, consisting merely of one or more 
huge, unglazed, earthen pans of water, and a large tin mug, 
with which the bather pours the fluid over his body. The 
practice of getting into a bath is comparatively unknown 
in India ; but one soon becomes accustomed to this native 
fashion, which involves far less expense and trouble, in a 
climate where every one must bathe at least every day. 
A ridge of brick-work round the bathing space keeps the 
rest of the floor dry, and the water drains off in one 
corner. There is generally a narrow flight of steps outside 
for the bheesty and mehtar, who can thus come up to 
discharge their duties without entering" the house — a 
double benefit, as it saves their traversing the rooms, and 
prevents their pilfering anything by the way. Bheesties 
have a very indifferent character for honesty, though their 
scanty clothing would seem almost to preclude the possi- 
bility of their secreting anything • and they have even 
been detected forcing small articles into their empty 
mussocks, in hopes of thus carrying them off unseen. 
Sometimes their thefts are very daring, as when a friend 
of mine missed the large bathing-towel she had used an 
hour or two before, and sending to search the bheesty's 
hut immediately, recovered the stolen property. 



78 



INLAND. 



On the whole, however, I am disposed to think that, 
except the very low caste people, native servants are far 
more trustworthy than they are generally believed to be. 
Of course, in this matter, as in every other, very much 
depends upon the masters ; and the careless habits of 
Indo-Europeans, arising from the listlessness inevitably 
fostered by the climate, have much to answer for. Still, 
I have had Indian servants whom I never hesitated to trust 
under circumstances that would try the principles of many 
Europeans in the same class of life. I have repeatedly sent 
a bearer, whose monthly wages did not exceed fourteen shil- 
lings, to fetch and carry sums of money that, in his eyes, 
must have been enormous wealth ; and have even put his 
fidelity to a still more trying test, by advancing him a 
quarter's wages at a time, when he took his biennial leave of 
absence to go to his distant up-country home. More than 
once the man walked to and fro some hundreds of miles, 
to a remote district where I certainly could not have 
traced him in case of defalcation, returning punctually to 
work on reduced pay till the debt was discharged. My 
poor, faithful Bowhanie ! Hindoo as he was, many a so- 
called Christian might take pattern with advantage from 
him, or from his Mussulman associate, my quiet, punctual, 
ever watchful kitmutghar, Kaloo. 

It is a painful thing to any Christian heart to be sur- 
rounded in one's very home by heathen and Mahometans, 
especially when one is unable to speak to them of the faith 
that makes us to differ ; and this is more or less the case 
with all Europeans, except the very few who have studied 
the vernacular really with a missionary purpose. Even 
people brought up in the country, and fluent in the Hindoo- 
stani jargon which forms the general vehicle of communi- 
cation with the natives, are utterly at a loss to convey any 
spiritual idea to their minds. They may be able to 
bargain, give orders, and scold, with ease, to ask questions 



ENGLISH HOUSEKEEPING IN CALCUTTA. 



79 



and understand replies on ordinary topics ; but religion 
presents a new field altogether, with a language of its own 
not easily acquired. There is a society in Calcutta, which 
sends out native Christians to read and explain the Bible 
weekly to the servants of any household, for a small 
payment ; but, unfortunately, its agents are men of the 
lowest caste, and this is a great hindrance to their useful- 
ness. It may readily be supposed that even servants will 
not listen with much respect to a man whom they could 
not touch without contamination ; and yet this is the 
literal fact. No mallee or bearer, no kitmutghar or 
coachman would even help to move a fallen tree side by 
side with a mehtar ; and I cannot but think that it is a 
great mistake to send out men of this despised caste as 
teachers, except among their own people. The servants 
will sit and listen, or rather they will sit and do nothing, 
which is always an easy matter for a Bengali ; and even 
thus, good has been done: many minds have been leavened 
to some extent with the rudiments of Christian morality, 
and some few have been savingly enlightened, even by 
this most unlikely instrumentality; but one would fain 
see Christian Hindoos of a higher class willing to under 
take work like this for the Lord whom they profess to 
follow. 

The only general feature in an Indian house left to 
describe is the most distinctive and universal of all — the 
punkah. It hangs everywhere, in dining-room, drawing- 
room, and bed-room, church, school-room, townhall, and 
counting-house, singly or in pairs in private rooms, and 
in numbers proportioned to the size of public buildings. 
Sometimes it is merely a long cornice pole, with heavy 
corded frills of holland ; sometimes an oblong frame 
covered with canvas, coloured to match the rooms, and 
edged with the same deep frill. It is hung by crimson ropes 
from the lofty ceilings, and pulled by cords passing over 



80 



INLAND. 



small pulleys, and through, doorways or holes in the wall, 
to the anteroom or verandah, where sits the bearer whose 
sole business is to keep it in motion. Sometimes the 
punkah is necessarily so arranged that he is in the same 
room ; and one has to live for eight or nine months of the 
year subject to the perpetual presence of a wild, half- 
dressed man, who squats on the floor all day, lazily sway- 
ing to and fro as he pulls the rope that keeps the giant 
fans in motion. In the cathedral the punkahs hang from 
iron rods which cross the building at about mid height, 
and the bearers are partially concealed by an open screen- 
work that runs along the walls. The fans are everywhere 
so hung as barely to escape one's head, and are often 
very inconvenient to people above the average height. 
Of course for night punkahs relays of bearers have to be 
employed, and even then, one is always liable to their 
dropping asleep, so that it is best to do without them if 
possible. Few things are more trying to the temper 
than to awake stifled with heat, and find the punkah 
kanoino; motionless over head. One may call in vain 
" Bearer, bearer, punkah tanno ! ; ' for he is safe on the 
other side of the wall or door, and fast asleep ; and the 
exertion and irritation only make one hotter than before. 
The usual resource for a gentleman is to get up and 
send some missile at his head ; for a lady, to seize the 
punkah frill, and give it a sudden jerk, which is pretty 
sure to awake the sleeper, as he never lets go the cord ; 
and this will generally rouse him for a time, but at the 
cost of much heat, both physical and moral, and the risk 
of admitting within the curtains some ever watchful 
mosquito, which will effectually murder sleep. 

Many mechanical contrivances have been suggested, 
and several patented, with the object of dispensing with 
the nuisance of these punkah-bearers ; but there seems 
little prospect of any substitute ever coming into general 



ENGLISH HOUSEKEEPING IN CALCUTTA. 



81 



use. More power is required thau can be furnished by 
any machine of moderate size and expense ; and human 
labour is so cheap in India, and this mindless toil so 
suited to the capacity of the people, thai it seems scarcely 
likely ever to be superseded. 



82 



III 

DAILY LIFE IN THE CAPITAL. 

Haying thus sketched the surroundings of European life 
in Calcutta, little remains but to give a brief description 
of the usual daily routine. Of course, this varies some- 
what with the seasons, but we will take some twenty-four 
hours between March and June, that being the height of 
the dry season in Bengal. 

At half past fixe or six, " chota hazree/' or little 
breakfast, is brought to your bed-room, and you rise, 
dress hastily, and go out for an early drive. By seven 
o'clock the sun is too strong for comfort or even safety, 
except under a double umbrella or a carriage hood, and 
by eight most people are safe indoors, where a bath and 
a leisurely change of dress prepares them for the enjoy- 
ment of a second and enlarged edition of the morning' 
meal. Tea and coffee, and not unfrequently Bass's or 
Alsopp's bitter ale, meat, fowl, or fish, broiled, curried, or 
cooked in some fanciful way, omelettes , mulligatawny, 
or kedgeree, and one or two varieties of fruit make their 
appearance here, with chutney and other condiments to 
tempt the failing appetite ; for it is really important in 
India to have a good morning meal. 

By ten or half past, all the gentlemen are off to their 
various offices and employments, and the ladies are left to 
attend to domestic and family affairs, or settle down for an 



DAILY LIFE IN THE CAPITAL. 



83 



hour or two to reading or fancy work. Books, periodicals, 
and newspapers arrive in Calcutta within a month of their 
publication in England, and can be bought for cash at 
no very great advance upon the published price ; and Cal- 
cutta itself produces two or three very fair daily papers, 
besides others in the vernacular, intended, for native 
readers. Most of the needlework in families that can 
afford it, is done by dirzees, or native tailors, for few ladies 
have the health or energy to undertake what would be 
accomplished with ease in England ; and very few female 
servants know how to handle a needle. These men are 
hired by the month for about thirteen or fourteen shillings, 
and some of them can work quickly and well, but they 
require constant watchfulness, and it is always difficult 
to get them to take pains with the repairs. I never 
saw one who could darn a stocking respectably, but 
their new work is upon the whole very satisfactory, 
and it is amusing to see them sitting on the floor of 
' the ante-room, or verandah, holding the long seams with 
their toes, or stretching out their feet to pick up a 
thimble or a pair of scissors, almost as nimbly as a 
monkey. 

Embroidery of all kinds is executed by another class 
of men with wonderful dexterity and despatch, and may 
be bought from these " chickon wallahs" at the door, 
by any one skilled in bargaining, at a fourth or fifth of 
what it would cost in England. Another class called 
" topi wallahs " devote themselves to millinery, and will 
trim hats or make up the most delicate bonnets as well 
as any milliner, if a satisfactory pattern or direction can 
be given them. Indeed, almost all the needlework in 
Calcutta is really done by native men • for even in the 
ruinously expensive English shops, the European 
milliners and dressmakers who receive orders and try 
on dresses, commit the actual execution to male sub or- 



84 



INLAND. 



dinates ; and it is cheaper, though it involves more 
trouble, to employ the dirzee or topi wallah without their 
intervention. Of course, there is every grade of effi- 
ciency and inefficiency to be found among them, and it 
is best not to trust an untried man with anything that he 
can spoil, but the skill of some amounts to positive 
genius^ and their charges are not higher than the mo^t 
ordinary English 4 r essniaker. Give one of these men a 
well-fitting dress in any style as a pattern, and he will 
thenceforth make for you dresses high or low, loose or 
close-fitting, without once requiring the troublesome pro- 
cess of trying on, and their celerity is equally wonderful. 
In an emergency, I have even given out the material for 
a somewhat elaborate dress in the morning, and had it 
sent home ready to put on by the evening of the following 
day ; but this again is a matter in which no native should 
be trusted till he has been amply tried, for want of 
punctuality is one of the most general and irritating 
grievances in India. 

If there are any formal calls to make, they must also 
be performed during the interval between breakfast and 
tiffin, a most inconvenient custom, as it takes one out in 
the fierce heat of noon ; but it is accounted for by 
the theory that every lady takes a siesta in the after- 
noon, and by the fact that everybody drives out in 
the evening. On further acquaintance, one often ascer- 
tains that people do not rest in the afternoon, and that 
these hours are consequently not tabooed with them, 
but a first or formal visit must always be paid about 
noon. 

Another uncomfortable rule prescribes that new 
comers shall call first upon residents, instead of the con- 
trary home practice, so that the awkwardness of making 
way in an entirely new society is thrown upon strangers, 
who thus incur a three-fold risk — of calling upon those 



DAILY LIFE IN THE CAPITAL. 



85 



who consider it an intrusion, not calling upon those who 
expect it, and calling upon the wrong people first — a 
serious matter in a country where precedence is jealously 
insisted on. In up country stations, offence is often 
given in this way, but Calcutta is large enough for a 
greater degree of freedom ; and after leaving cards at 
Government House and the Bishop's Palace, it is not diffi- 
cult to arrange one's other calls. 

The entree to Government House is by no means the 
exclusive privilege which English people would generally 
imagine it. All officers, all professional men, men of 
letters, and others engaged in educational work, are 
freely admitted to the Viceroy's levees, and all ladies of 
corresponding position, if only they can find some one 
already on the list to present them at a Drawing-room, 
are sure to be invited to concerts and garden parties, if 
not to the Vice- regal table. 

Let us suppose that the carriage has been duly 
ordered, the coachman has received and understood his 
directions, and the caller has arrived at the gate of the 
first house on the day's list. Here, perhaps, the horses 
are stopped, and the durwan comes to the carriage door 
with the concise announcement "Darwaza bund''' (lite- 
rally, "The door is shut.") This is the Calcutta sub- 
stitute for the polite falsehoods used in England to keep 
out visitors at inconvenient times, and it saves a great 
deal of trouble. One has only to send out this order to 
the durwan, and it is his duty to see that no one enters 
the gates. The order being a general one, no offence is 
taken, and the caller merely leaves a card and drives 
away, unless she comes by appointment, or is sufficiently 
intimate to write a message on the slate which the 
durwan generally produces in case of a parley. This of 
course calls forth a few words of explanation as to why 
visitors are not admitted, or procures an entrance. The 



86 



INLAND. 



carriage drives in, the durwan or a bearer shows tlie 
visitor upstairs, and the coachman and syce go to sleep 
on the box till the call is over. 

But shopping, as well as calling, has to be done in 
the heat of the day, for few European shops open before 
ten, and native ones an hour or so later, both closing 
soon after four, so there is generally plenty to be accom- 
plished before tiffin. This meal is taken at one or two 
o'clock, and varies from a very slight luncheon to a 
tolerably substantial early dinner, according to the habits 
of the family. Though the custom of really going to bed 
in the afternoon is not so prevalent as it used to be, few- 
people feel inclined, or indeed able for anything but the 
lightest employment after tiffin, till refreshed by the five 
o^clock cup of tea, which heralds the blessed time of 
sunset. Then the bearers go round and open the heavy 
sun-shutters, closed throughout the day; the south 
breeze from the distant sea comes in with soft, fresh 
breath, and every one prepares, according to native 
idiom, " to eat the air." Gentlemen drive home as fast 
as their business hacks can take them, to bathe and dress 
and start out again with wives and children in the 
coolest and freshest attire for the one drive of Calcutta, 
along the Strand. This is a broad, well-kept road along* 
the whole river-side of the Maidan, extending from near 
Government House, past the Eden Gardens to the boun- 
daries of Kidderpore; and here, evening after evening, 
congregate the rank, and wealth, and fashion of Calcutta.. 
The scene is, perhaps, unique, and merits a minute de- 
scription. 

Let us imagine ourselves then to have joined the 
stream of carriages driving slowly down the Strand, with 
the spire of Kidderpore Church rising out of the trees in 
the distance before us. On the right, close to the road, 
the yellow Hooghly rolls its turbid waters, crowded with 



DAILY LIFE IN THE CAPITAL. 



87 



merchant shipping from all parts of the world. The sun 
is just sinking behind the palms that fringe the horizon, 
and all the glory of a tropical sky, with its masses of 
brilliant sunset cloud, lights up the scene. At first the 
vessels lie so thickly moored along the strand, that you 
can see little beyond their forest of masts and rigging ; 
but Government House and a long line of public build- 
ings lie behind you on the left, and close beside you are 
the gay Eden Gardens, where a full military band takes 
its nightly station during the hour of the drive. The 
road is thronged with equipages of every description, 
from the Viceroy's carriage and four, with outriders and 
liveries blazing with scarlet and gold, to the third-class 
gharry, crammed with half-naked natives, and drawn by 
a miserable pony harnessed with knotted rope. Nowhere 
in the world, probably, are gathered so many striking 
equipages; for though other capitals could furnish the 
elegant barouches and landaus, and perhaps match the 
fashionable toilettes of the ladies within, they want the 
picturesque element furnished by the bright colours and 
tasteful liveries of the native drivers and running foot- 
men. White predominates, especially, of course, in the 
hot season ; but turbans and sashes of scarlet, blue, 
green, and crimson, add their brilliancy, and here and 
there is a gorgeous turn-out, resplendent with the jewels 
and bright colours of some rajah or wealthy baboo. No- 
thing can exceed the showiness of these people's dress. 
Lono* silk or satin tunics of the richest and most varied 
colours, and immense muslin or gauze turbans of vivid 
emerald green, sky blue, or mauve, or lemon colour, or 
velvet smoking caps thickly embroidered with gold, and 
shawls of priceless value, compose their attire ; while other 
carriages, equally handsome, but in a more sober style, 
are filled with grave portly Parsees robed in white muslin 
and distinguished by their singular tall brown headdress 



88 



INLAND. 



Next in the line, perhaps, is a barouche occupied by an 
English gentleman with his pale, delicate-looking wife, 
and two or three tiny fair-haired children, the youngest 
in the arms of an ayah, whose jet-black hair and ma- 
hogany skin contrast well with her crimson-edged chud- 
dar and the infant's flaxen curls and pure complexion. 
A singular delicacy and refinement characterise the 
appearance of most European children in Calcutta. They 
look like plants blanched by the want of wholesome light 
and air ; and this is scarcely to be wondered at when 
one reflects that the sunshine which seems to be the chil- 
dren's element at home, is here a deadly and forbidden 
thing. 

Next, perhaps, comes a close hack gharry, through the 
open windows or sliding doors of which we see four 
portly low class baboos naked to the waist, or perhaps 
five or six native children under the care of an elderly man 
or woman, their bright eyes glancing under tinselled 
skull-caps or gay coloured chuddars, and their bare arms 
and legs covered with silver ornaments. And so the 
motley crowd streams on, three or four lines of carriages 
driving slowly up and down, and groups of riders can- 
tering over the level turf of the Maidan, past the Fort 
with its green ramparts, and the more distant Cathedral 
rising white and stately from its surrounding trees, till 
the forest of masts grows thinner, and one catches broad 
glimpses of the placid stream with its background of 
perpetual palms parting 1 the dark flats opposite from the 
clear orange- coloured sky. Then the hues of night begin 
to steal over all, not grey as in our northern clime, but 
deeply blue and clear, and the stars shine out one by one 
as the breeze freshens, and the last notes of the National 
Anthem leave a sudden stillness in the air. Every car- 
riage lamp is then lit, and the roads across the Maidan 
are soon crowded with their twinkling sparks, while the 



DAILY LIFE IN THE CAPITAL. 



89 



gas lamps round Chowringh.ee mark its boundaries with 
a line of light; and all Calcutta hastens home to dinner. 
Half-past seven or eight is the usual hour, and the even- 
ing winds up among quiet people with a lounge in the 
verandah or a little music. By half-past ten or eleven 
most are ready for bed, and the yells of jackals and the 
occasional discordant sounds of native minstrelsy alone 
break the stillness of the night. 



90 



IV 

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEASONS IN CALCUTTA. 

We will now turn our attention to the peculiarities of the 
Indian climate, and to some of the attendant circum- 
stances which make life in Calcutta so trying to a 
European ; and here the first thing that naturally strikes 
one is the division of the year into three seasons instead 
of four. The old familiar names of spring, summer, 
autumn, and winter, are never heard; but we speak 
instead of the hot season, the rainy, and the cold, and 
of these three adjectives the appropriateness of only the 
last can be questioned. We will begin with this — the 
cold season — because most people, if possible, time their 
voyage so as to arrive at its commencement, and because 
it is decidedly the prime of the Indian year. 

It sets in about the beginning of November, when 
punkahs begin to hang idle in private rooms, and are 
taken down out of the churches, where they are a great 
obstruction both to sight and sound. The supernumerary 
bearers who have been employed for eight months to 
keep them in constant motion are dismissed from every 
family, and the rooms are at last free from the annoyance 
of their constant presence. Though the heat in the open 
sunshine is still nearly as great, and quite as dangerous 
between the hours of nine and four, as in the extremest 
ardour of an English summer, the mornings and evenings 



CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEASONS IN CALCUTTA. 91 



begin to be chilly and often foggy, and by Christmas, 
even the sight of a fire is sometimes pleasant. 

Few Calcutta houses, however, are furnished with a 
fire-place, so that Europeans have to do without this 
indulgence, but the natives light their fires of wood and 
dried cowdung outside their huts, the acrid smoke of this 
peculiar fuel mingling with the evening fog, and making 
it sometimes intensely painful to the eyes. Very little 
coal is used in Calcutta, wood being the general substi- 
tute for English cookery, and cowdung for native use. 
Nothing belonging to this sacred animal can pollute the 
most scrupulous Hindoo, and men who would think them- 
selves defiled by the touch of an English hand will daub 
themselves with it externally, and even take it internally, 
both for physical and religious purification. It forms an 
essential ingredient in the loathsome mixture partaken of 
in some peculiarly sacred ceremonies, and which I believe 
every Hindoo woman has to swallow as part of the 
mairiage rites, so it is not surprising that no repugnance 
is felt to its employment as fuel. The natives mix it into 
a soft paste with water, and then, taking it by handfuls, 
stick it in fiat round cakes, each bearing the impress of 
five fingers, all over the walls of their huts, where they 
dry and adhere till wanted, forming a noticeable feature 
in the ornamentation of native premises. 

Though the direct rays of the sun are still dangerous, 
and sunstroke has been known to result from imprudent 
exposure even on New Year's Day, the temperature in 
the shade is perfection, and the clear bright air a luxury 
to breathe. Most of our English annuals and other 
garden favourites flower freely at this season — mignonette, 
larkspur, marigolds, roses, verbenas, etc., blossoming in 
strange fellowship with chrysanthemums, and mingling 
their familiar aspect with gorgeous rivals that need stove 
heat to bring them to perfection here. 



92 



INLAND. 



The poinsettia, generally seen only as a puny plant in 
English greenhouses, grows to a tall, straggling shrub 
in every garden in Calcutta, lifting its whorls of long 
crimson bracts above the high compound walls, side by 
side with the scarlet and orange spikes of the graceful 
poinciana. The former, which is in perfection about 
Christmas, is one of the most conspicuous and effective 
features in the floral decorations of the churches ; and 
on the hills, which are too cold for it to flourish, sprays 
of coffee-berries, which grow very like English holly, 
but much larger and handsomer, often take its place. 
Convolvuluses, of a size and richness and variety of 
colour never seen in England, flower in glowing pro- 
fusion • but perhaps the most striking floral ornament 
of Calcutta is the Bignonia venusta, also a Christmas 
flowering creeper. It climbs over the tall gateways, and 
hangs in masses of the most vivid orange, the flowers 
literally piled upon each other with scarcely an interven- 
ing leaf. Later in the season comes an equally beautiful, 
but very different creeper — the Beaumontia grandiflora — 
which soon climbs from branch to branch of even the 
loftiest tree, hanging its bunches of large, scented, white, 
lily-like bells among the dark green leaves ; and about 
the same time the silk cotton tree puts out its large star- 
like crimson flowers all over. the leafless boughs. 

Taken as a whole, Indian flowers are as inferior in per- 
fume to our own as they are superior in size and colour- 
ing. Our own favourites give comparatively little scent out 
there, and the indigenous ones are either scentless, or have 
an overpowering sweetness. The Cape jessamine, and other 
single and double varieties of the same kind, are amono- 
the commonest shrubs, and the luxuriously-scented white 
tuberose flowers profusely in every garden — these being 
good representatives of the kind of perfume with which 
one is satiated in India. There is nothing refreshing or 



CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEASONS IN CALCUTTA. 93 

wholesome in the odours, only cloying, enervating sweet- 
ness, and it is quite delightful sometimes, by way of con- 
trast, to inhale the homelv fragrance of the old Eno-lish 
marigold and southernwood, which do contrive to retain 
their character out there. The former is a great favourite 
with the natives, who string its staring orange flowers 
into garlands for their gods, or wreathe them in festoons 
across the doorposts and gateways on Christmas Day and 
other festivals. It affords a great contrast to the " bale- 
phul," their other favourite votive flower — a very double, 
round-petalled, white jessamine, almost like a Banksia 
rose, but with the most overpoweringly rich odour. 
These are picked off, and strung into long' white chains, 
to be worn in many coils round the neck and breast on 
holy days and other festive occasions. 

The Hibiscus, or shoe-flower, has been mentioned in 
the description of Ceylon, but it must not be omitted 
here, though its magnificent flowers are too common to 
attract notice, except from strangers. Its varieties are 
endless, the commonest being crimson or rose-coloured, 
either single, with a conspicuous and beautiful white style, 
or double and as large as a fine rose. Others are very like 
pink or white hollyhocks, except that they grow separately 
but profusely on woody shrubs ; and others again are of the 
most delicate lemon colour with a jet black centre, and with 
the edges of their petals finely frilled. These are commonly 
seven or eight inches in diameter, either single or with a 
rosette in the centre, and very showy and beautiful. Ixoras 
of every brilliant and delicate tint flourish luxuriantly, but 
no colour that I ever saw in nature or art matches the 
vivid scarlet of the double pomegranate blossom. 

There is, however, little satisfaction in giving 1 a mere 
catalogue of flowers which no words can adequately 
describe, and we will turn to the homelier subject of 
vegetables and fruit. Almost all the former, to which 



94 



INLAND. 



we are accustomed in England, may be had in the cold 
season in Calcutta. Peas, cauliflower, cabbage, potatoes, 
carrots, turnips, lettuces, radishes, cucumbers, beet, and 
a sort of legume easily mistaken for French beans, 
together with a variety of vegetables of the, gourd tribe, 
are most of them in season all the year, but especially 
now, and pine-apples, oranges, and plantains are the chief 
Christmas fruits. The first mentioned grow wild or nearly 
so, and are sometimes exceedingly good, though of course 
inferior to the best home-grown pines in England. The 
cold season is also the time for what are called goose- 
berries — a very peculiar fruit, which grows like the winter 
cherry, enclosed in a bladder-like calyx, and is a round, 
shiny, amber berry, full of tiny seeds, and making a rich 
preserve, though the raw fruit is at first far from palatable. 
A kind of plum as large as a magnum bonmn, but with 
flesh as firm and crisp as an English apple, is also in season 
now, and requires a little custom to appreciate it. Many 
other wholesome but far from pleasant fruits come into 
season in the course of the year, but I shall only name 
those really worthy of mention. 

The glorious cold season continues from the middle of 
November to the middle of February, the temperature 
decreasing up to Christmas, and increasing with the pro- 
gress of the new year, but never cold enough to make a 
fire necessary, or to require more than one blanket. 
During all this time no rain falls, except as a very rare 
exception; but day after day brings the same sunshine, 
and the same clear, exhilarating air. Of course the roads 
become very dusty, except where they are perpetually 
watered, but the grass keeps marvellously fresh and 
green, owing to the copious dews. This is the season 
for picnics, bazaars, and fetes of various kinds, and the 
season also for public amusements in the capital. The 
Viceroy and all the officials and gentry who accompany 



CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEASONS IN CALCUTTA. 



95 



his court in its migrations, being now in Calcutta, there 
are reviews, races, concerts, theatricals, and even an opera 
company for those who care for them ; besides the usual 
round of Government receptions and private parties, and 
the various school anniversaries, which it is quite the 
fashion to attend. 

Barrackpore Park, about twelve miles by rail from 
Calcutta, is a favourite and really enjoyable place for 
picnics, and the Botanical Gardens on the other side the 
river are well worth visiting. Barrackpore is the Viceroy's 
country seat, situated on the banks of the Hooghly ; and 
here, beneath a costly tomb, in a garden-plot overlook- 
ing the broad turbid waters, rest the remains of the 
lamented Lady Canning. The park is studded wick 
magnificent banyan, peepul, and tamarind trees, and. 
artificially undulated, so as to be a pleasant change from 
the unvaried natural flatness of the country. It contains 
also a very fair menagerie, in which the Bengal tiger may 
be seen to full perfection, and many a pleasant holiday 
may be spent within its bounds, resting under the shade 
of its grand old banyan till the no on- tide heat is over. 

This magnificent tree has literally countless trunks, 
extending over a space sufficient to shelter several hun- 
dred people, and garlanded in all directions by the huge 
shining leaves and cord-like stems of the elephant creeper. 
Once, at a school picnic we found its low, shady boughs 
unexpectedly useful. The table-cloth had been spread, 
not under the tree, where the ground was trodden and 
dusty, but on the grass within its shadow ; and the chil- 
dren merrily watched the kindling of the fire and the 
boiling of potatoes for dinner, unconscious that other 
bright eyes were taking keen note of the proceedings 
too. But no sooner had the servants begun to distribute 
the slices of cold beef than there was a whirr and rush of 
wings, and an army of kites swooped from the neighbour- 



96 



INLAXD. 



ing trees, and cleared away every scrap and crumb as if by 
magic. The scene was ludicrous in the extreme, for no 
one was at all prepared for such an onset, and the 
astonishment of those who thus saw their dinner vanish 
from before their eyes, may be imagined. Fortunately 
the supplies were abundant, but the cloth had to be 
moved under the tree, where the low boughs prevented 
any further depredations. This great, long- winged kite, 
called by the natives " cheel," from its peculiar, shrill, 
tremulous cry, commonly takes its prey on the wing, 
merely stooping to seize the food with its talons, and 
devouring it without a moment's pause in its rapid flight ; 
consequently when there was not space to swoop, we were 
safe from rapine. Often the poor Hindoo, coming home 
from market with his purchases in an open basket on his 
head, has them snatched away without remedy by this 
audacious thief; and if Egyptian kites resemble their 
Indian congeners in boldness and rapacity, the baker's 
dream in Pharaoh's prison house was no wild freak of the 
imagination, but a mere reproduction of one of the most 
familiar incidents of daily life. 

Even the kites, however, are not as great a nuisance 
as the Calcutta crows. Protected, like the jackals, on 
account of their usefulness as scavengers, as well as by 
the natural supineness of Hindoos and Anglo-Indians, 
these detestable birds swarm in the city, the very per- 
sonification of impudence and greed. Living as one has 
to do for the most part with every door and window open, 
it is impossible to keep them out, and they constantly 
perch on the open shutters and hop in at the doors, their 
sleek grey and black plumage glistening with satisfac- 
tion, and their cunning eyes alert at any indication of an 
approaching meal. Let the room be left for a moment 
after it is laid, and they are upon the table ; let a plate 
or dish be set aside, even with a room full of people, and 



CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEASONS IN CALCUTTA. 97 



one sidles towards it cautiously, with many a knowing 
gesture, and is certain to get his share if it is only out of 
arm's reach. He is filthy, too, in all his habits, leaving 
traces of his presence on table-cloth and floor, perching 
on punkahs and bed-posts., and defiling everything, even 
if it does not occur to him to carry up some unclean 
meal and finish it upon your clean white counterpane, or 
stow it away behind your pillow. It would be hard to 
decide whether their hoarse, impudent noise, their rest- 
less thievishness, or their filthy habits, render Indian 
crows the most detestable ; but the three combined are 
perfectly intolerable, and many a time is one driven to 
wish that they had bul} one neck that we might wring it 
and exterminate the race. The Hindoos believe that if a 
man steals rice, his soul at transmigration enters the body 
of a crow; and there is a grotesque fitness in the myth, 
not always obvious in their superstitions. 

But these are perpetual plagues, and the one special 
worry of the cold season is quite sufficient for the time. 
This is the mosquito — never, it is true, quite absent, but 
now swarming up out of every ditch and tank, and giving 
the hapless foreigner no respite night nor clay. After 
some seasons out, the blood gets thin and poor, and 
the bites no longer inflame, leaving only the tiniest red 
speck; but at first the irritation is intolerable. Face, 
neck, hands, feet and legs suffer alike, even in the day- 
time, but especially at evening. Thin clothing is no 
defence at all, and one is only safe inside mosquito 
curtains. 

About the end of February the weather gets very 
hot, and early in March punkahs are again hung in the 
churches, and brought into constant use at home. Then 
the vice-regal court and offices, and most of the elite of 
Calcutta prepare to take flight to Simla ; the hot season 
fairly sets in, and the capital is abandoned for eight 

7 



98 



INLAND. 



months to the fall round of tropical discomforts. The 
heat is inconceivable, often reaching above 100° in the 
shade, and producing incessant and profuse perspiration, 
which however has the advantage of averting the flushed 
and uncomfortable feelings which often attend a lower tem- 
perature in England. Eising at five in the morning, the 
early drive and the cold bath afford a temporary refresh- 
ment, but before the labour of dressing is half completed, 
large drops are again coursing each other over the skin. 
Of course every article of dress not absolutely necessary 
is discarded, but in the lightest attire and in lofty shaded 
rooms one may sit at ten in the morning under the full 
swing of the punkah, with beads of moisture standing on 
every pore. Passing an open door or window on the 
south side of the house at noon, the air strikes in like 
the hot breath from an oven, and clothes fresh out of the 
wardrobe feel as if they had been taken from before a 
fire. Kid boots crack, leather covers of books curl up 
stiffly, and wooden boxes go off with a loud report, the 
bottoms splitting out, and the veneer peeling off, for 
scarcely any glue will stand this climate. Still, strange to 
say, even the rapid evaporation caused by the dry heat 
has no sensible effect upon the moisture of the skin. One's 
arm resting on the table leaves a wet smear, and long 
before night there is literally scarcely a dry thread about 
one. 

The only relief is from the fresh, cool breeze that 
springs up regularly at sunset, blowing from the distant 
sea. Doors and windows are all flung open to admit it, 
and it sweeps through the upper rooms, especially if the 
house is lofty and lonely, with a soft, puffing breath, that 
stirs all the drapery, and brings refreshment and sleep to 
the most exhausted. Now and then, too, throughout the 
months of March and April, the heat is suddenly brought 
down by tremendous thunderstorms. Few who have 



CHAEACTERISTICS OF THE SEASONS IN CALCUTTA. 99 

not witnessed these outbreaks in the tropics can imagine 
either their fury or the immense relief they bring. Their 
rising is often strangely sudden. Everything is perfectly 
still, and you are sitting exhausted under the punkah, in 
the dense, brooding heat of afternoon, when suddenly all 
the unfastened doors and windows in the house bang like 
a discharge of artillery. Bearers rush in all directions to 
close and fasten them ; but even through closed shutters 
and doors comes a choking blast of fine sand, covering 
everything. If you look out in time, you may see it 
eddying along the roads from the N.W. in red wavering 
columns, rising sometimes to a great height ; but in a 
moment it is upon you, and the very trees before the 
window are hidden from view. This whirlwind of sand 
lasts but a few minutes, the wind howling and beating till 
even the heavily-barred windows can scarcely stand the 
strain ; and then down comes the rain, in furious pelt, 
laying the dust in a moment, and driving along the 
ground in sheets of water. The thunder roars, and the 
lightning plays in all directions, with a vivid splendour 
never seen in our quiet old country — not merely forked, 
but running in long, zig-zag streaks across the sky ; and 
the rain falls in such torrents that all the spouts from the 
roof soon become noisy waterfalls. This lasts an hour or 
so, and then the freshness of the atmosphere for a while is 
most enjoyable, the thermometer sometimes falling twelve 
or fifteen degrees in an incredibly short space of time. 
After the drought of the previous four months, it may be 
imagined how these storms refresh all vegetation; but 
they are rare and uncertain visitants, and it is not till the 
middle of June that the rains really set in. 

Long before this, probably, the overtasked cuticle 
rebels against the unreasonable amount of work it has to 
do ; and a new nuisance sets in, in the form of prickly heat, 
or boils, or both. The former is happily unknown in 



100 



INLAND. 



England, and deserves a few words of introduction. It 
is a red, slightly raised eruption, spreading more or less 
overthe whole surface of the body, and causing, especially 
at nighty a maddening irritation. Some people are 
reduced to such a state by it that they literally cannot 
bear their clothes, and lotions and other appliances are 
perfectly useless. I have seen English children, who 
arrived a few months before, models of health and beauty, 
transfigured by these unpleasant complaints till they were 
equally uninviting to sight and touch ; but both evils are 
very capricious in their choice of victims, and some people 
never suffer from them at all. 

About this time, the leechee, one of the most delicious 
fruits of India, comes into season. It grows in long, 
dropping bunches, on a tall, handsome tree, each fruit 
being about the size of a partridge's egg, and cased in a 
rough, red skin, which gives it at a distance some resem- 
blance to a large, coarse strawberry. This peels off 
readily, disclosing a transparent, bluish white pulp, of a 
firm, gelatinous texture and delicious acid taste, with a 
brown, acorn-like stone in the middle. Now, too, the 
glorious poinciana regia, the very king of Indian trees, 
puts on its gorgeous robes. It is well named Flamboyant, 
or the Forest Flame ; for at this season it is an almost 
unmingled mass of scarlet and orange blossoms, dazzling 
to look upon. A noble tree, with immense mimosa-like 
leaves of rich, deep green, its effect may be imagined 
when it is thus crowned and robed with regal scarlet. 
The bunches of blossom often measure from a foot to 
eighteen inches in diameter. 

After the leechee comes the mango, of which some 
Europeans can never endure the taste or smell, but which 
is generally ranked first among Indian fruits. In shape a 
somewhat flattened oval, it varies in size from that of an 
ordinary pear to three or four times as large, and in colour 



CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEASONS IN CALCUTTA. 101 



from dark green to rich yellow tinged, with red. The pulp } 
which is juicy and luscious in the extreme, varies also 
from pale buff to deep reddish orange, and is liable to 
equal differences of quality. Some are full of stringy 
fibre, with a sweet, watery juice strongly flavoured with 
turpentine, and are jocularly termed sailors' mangoes, 
from the tar and hemp supposed to mingle in their com- 
position ) others are of the most melting texture, and a 
flavour richer and stronger, though far less delicate, than 
that of the apricot. But they are at the best a very 
inconvenient fruit ; a large, flat stone, from which the pulp 
cannot be detached, lying along the centre, and allowing 
only a thick slice to be cut from each side, out of which 
the pulp is scooped with a spoon. The rest of the fruit 
must either be wasted, or sucked in most ungraceful 
fashion from the stone, the yellow juice streaming from 
lips and fingers. 

Guavas, from which the well-known jelly is made, 
come into season about the same time, and are another 
very peculiar fruit, seldom eaten raw, though reputed very 
wholesome. They are not unlike an English pear in 
appearance, but both smell and taste are so sickly that 
few Europeans ever learn to like them. Indeed, taking 
all the fruits of Indian plains together, one would readily 
exchange them for such as an ordinary English garden 
can supply. On the hills in the north-west most of our 
home fruits can be cultivated ; but at Calcutta there are 
no raspberries, strawberries, currants, gooseberries^ 
cherries, apples, pears, apricots, or grapes; and the so- 
called plums, mulberries, and peaches are a mere mockery 
of the name. Two other fruits, however, are worthy of 
description, being quite unknown in England — the custard 
apple and the niangosteen — both of which come into season 
in the rains. The former, the cherimoyer of the West 
Indies, is in shape not unlike the round thick cone of some 



102 



INLAND. 



species of pine, only with larger segments, each con- 
taining a hard black seed. Externally, it is green, and, 
when ripe, falls readily to pieces, disclosing a mass of 
white, custard-like pulp, from which it derives its very 
appropriate name. The mangosteen does not, I be- 
lieve, grow in India, but is imported thither from the 
Straits, and is the prettiest and most delicious fruit 
imaginable. The husk is round, jet black, and shining, 
about the size of a small orange, and too hard to be cut 
without great difficulty, though, if the fruit is good, it 
yields to pressure in one direction, and splits readily 
enough. Inside, it is of a rich, crimson colour, and within 
it lies the delicate, pearly, acid fruit, divided into seg- 
ments like an orange, only that they are fewer and much 
more distinctly moulded. It is the perfection of flavour, 
form, and colouring, the semi-transparent whiteness of 
the exquisitely shaped fruit contrasting beautifully with 
the crimson lining and black exterior of its shell. 

The setting in of the rains may be expected in Calcutta, 
with almost absolute certainty, between the 15th and the 
25 th of June, by which time endurance seems to have 
reached its extremest limit. The first downpour comes 
like a royal boon from heaven, cooling the air, refreshing 
the thirsty land, and giving a wonderful impetus to 
vegetation ; and, for a day or two, one listens to the fall 
of waters from the roof, and watches the steady down- 
rushing of the rain, with intense relief and satisfaction. 
But in a little while the relaxing and depressing change in 
the atmosphere makes itself felt ; the heat, lessened at 
first, recovers its power, but changes its character to a 
close, sultry, vaporous oppression. The evening breeze 
no longer blows, and night and day are alike breathless 
and enervating. " From night to morn, from morn to 
dewy eve," it is an incessant vapour bath, like the pitiless, 
damp heat of a stove-house, or the air of a great laundry 



CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEASONS IN CALCUTTA. 103 



full of steaming clothes. This is the time that taxes the 
health and energy of Europeans to the utmost, and it 
lasts, with, little variation, from the end of June to the 
middle of October. Sometimes several days pass without 
rain, and, after the first fortnight, it is comparatively 
seldom that one has to forfeit evening exercise ; but 
through all these weary weeks the atmosphere never 
recovers a healthy dryness, and no breath of really fresh 
air comes to invigorate the health or revive the spirits. 

The consequences are what might be expected. The 
outside of the houses grows green and black with moisture, 
and as very few roofs can stand this continuous rain after 
the baking heat, the rooms probably leak in half a dozen 
places ; while even without extraneous moisture the in- 
door air is loaded to such an extent that mildew and mould 
soon cover every surface that is not absolutely impervious 
to their attacks. Silk dresses and valuable books should 
all be soldered down in tin before the commencement 
of this season, and it is next to impossible to keep kid 
gloves in wearable condition. 

Everything, even to pillows and mattrasses in con- 
stant use, acquires a mouldy smell, and if a trunk or piece 
of furniture stands flat on the floor, even for only a few 
days, the matting under it turns black and falls to pieces. 
It is not astonishing that a rapid growth of mould should 
flourish upon boots and shoes, but I certainly was not 
prepared to find my purse go mouldy in my pocket, or 
to see the covers of my books on the side-tables gradually 
marbled with permanent white. 

Preserves and potted meats must of course be eaten 
speedily or thrown away, and the general waste and loss 
daring this season are incalculable. Insects, always a 
source of discomfort, are more rampant than ever ; and 
crickets and cockroaches eat everything that comes in 
their way, from new tulle bonnets and muslin jackets, down 



104 



INLAND. 



to the covers of books and the paints in one's drawing- 
box. Perhaps few articles would be thought less tempt- 
ing in the way of diet than a cake of solid vermilion, yet 
I once slew in my own paint-box an infant cockroach, 
which had evidently been reared solely on that un- 
promising material. Singularly enough, vermilion and 
cobalt were the only two colours attacked, and these were 
riddled through with holes. Another odious little crea- 
ture, called the fish insect, from the flat case in which it 
encloses itself, devotes its energies with more discrimina- 
tion, solely to the destruction of apparel ; but the insects 
form far too characteristic a feature of Indian life to be 
dismissed with only cursory notice, and as the rainy 
season is their carnival they shall have due attention now. 

First in the list, beca.use of the magnitude of its 
depredations, comes the white ant, into whose scientific 
history it is unnecessary here to enter. As with the bee, 
every swarm of these creatures consists of three kinds — 
the perfect female, of which only one, a huge living mass 
of eggs, belongs to every nest ; the male, a large insect 
with four transparent wings, which rises out of the 
ground in clouds during the rainy season ; and the 
neuter or worker, a tiny, white, grub -like creature, which 
is always unhappily at hand. 

Whether they live in some mysterious fashion in the 
bricks and mortar of the walls, or whether they only 
climb them unseen in search of food, it is difficult to say ; 
but certain it is, that few houses or rooms in Calcutta are 
safe from these destructive pests. They work along 
between the floor and the matting, till they perceive 
some superincumbent pressure, and then strike up at 
once to see if it is anything that comes within the range 
of their appetites. They are not fastidious, for nothing 
except stone and metal seems to come amiss to them ; 
but w r ood, leather, cloth, paper and linen are their chief 



CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEASONS IN CALCUTTA. 105 



prey, and they will attack a trunk filled with, these from 
underneath, and eat their way in all directions through 
the contents before any outward indication of the mis- 
chief is visible. Working upwards in this unseen way, 
and carefully avoiding the outside, it needs incessant 
vigilance to guard against them, and they often accom- 
plish serious damage quite unsuspected. I have seen a 
thick portfolio full of drawings left lying for one clay on 
the floor of an upper room, swarming with them by the 
next, every drawing eaten into holes, and a large double 
handful of the disgusting little creatures shaken out 
to throw away. The common red ant, which is their 
determined enemy, soon cleared off the stragglers, so 
that only then' hidden working protects them from exter- 
mination. 

One of their most serious mischiefs is the destruction 
of beams of timber, which they attack whenever they can 
do so undisturbed, and for this cause, as has been already 
stated, Calcutta roofs are never ceiled. Fortunately, 
when they undermine these to any considerable extent, 
they leave a kind of earthy-looking deposit in their track, 
which gives warning of the inroad. Their ravages mav 
sometimes be stopped by rubbing the affected beams 
with earth oil ; but few years pass without its being 
necessary to take out some of the timbers of the upper 
floors, and put sound ones in their place. I have seen 
solid-looking beams, more than a foot in width and 
thickness, so completely hollowed out by these destruc- 
tive insects, that a stick could be thrust through them 
in any direction. This most serious mischief can never 
be wholly prevented, but its lesser forms may be averted 
by having trunks, wardrobes, etc., supplied with feet to 
be planted in saucers or on plates of tin, by never allow- 
ing any furniture to touch the walls, and by seeing that 
bearers and sweepers perform their duties thoroughly. 



106 



IXLAXD. 



Other kinds of ants, though not so mischievous as 
these, are yet sufficiently troublesome. One kind infests 
sugar, another bread, and neither can be wholly kept 
away, even though, the safe in which these articles are 
kept stands duly insulated with its feet in saucers of 
water. Where they live it is difficult to say, but one 
constantly sees them attempting to drag insects into 
cracks in the plaster, or hoisting them with vast effort 
and perseverance up the lofty walls. The instinct that 
attracts them to their prey is wonderful. The room 
may be perfectly clean and free, not an ant visible in any 
direction, but if even a mosquito is killed, it is fetched 
away almost immediately, and they swarm with equal 
readiness into your cup and saucer. Indeed, no one 
thinks of leaving a cup or glass, to stand for even a few 
minutes, without turning a plate over it to exclude these 
plagues. One night, driven to desperation by the cock- 
roaches, I took a slipper and slaughtered five gigantic 
specimens, and the next morning they were solemnly 
gliding up the wall one after the other in ghostly funeral 
procession, propelled and dragged by hundreds of red 
ants. 

Cockroaches, not the small creatures that sometimes 
swarm in English kitchens under the popular misnomer 
of black beetles, but of a different and truly giant kind, 
are perhaps the most general and disgusting pests 
of India. Their broad, brown bodies are fully an inch 
and a half in length, not to speak of legs and antennas, 
and as they run about the room at night when the lamp- 
light casts strong shadows, it is often difficult to distin- 
guish them from mice. Nothing in drawers, sideboard, 
or wardrobe is safe from them, if there is the smallest 
crevice anywhere, and they communicate to every place 
which they infest a most distinctive and disgusting 
smell. In the rains they fly about in a particularly 



CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEASONS IN CALCUTTA. 107 



lively manner, and when the lamps are lighted you may 
have half a dozen at once upon the tea-table, or pro- 
menading with delightful ease and freedom about the 
heads and shoulders of the guests. 

The grasshoppers, flies, and crickets which in the hot 
season swarm in the grass and fill one's muslin skirts in 
walking over it, invade the house during the rains, with 
countless other tribes. After sunset, it is nothing but 
one incessant buzz, ©hirp, and flop, as they leap against 
the white walls and fall back upon the matting. Inside 
every fold of one's skirts, up the sleeve, inside the jacket, 
kicking, tickling, jerking themselves into your face, jump- 
ing into your tea, and swarming over the table-cloth, 
the rooms are literally alive with them, and bed is really 
the only place of refuge. Earwigs, beetles, mantises, fly- 
ing bugs, and small green insects that run or hop side- 
ways with a peculiarly fidgety motion, swarm on the 
table, and drown themselves in the mghtlamp, the oil of 
which is often half an inch thick with these tiny green 
creatures alone. The mole cricket with its ugly face and 
strange broad claws is not an unfrequent visitor, and the 
praying mantis, which attains a length of from two to 
three inches, is a very amusing one from its singular 
aspect and curiously deliberate movements ; while 
enormous spiders, and huge noisy beetles, buzzing and 
banging themselves against walls and ceiling are 
decidedly unpleasant inmates. 

You hear a portentous buzz, perhaps, and see some 
particularly ugly and vicious-looking monster on the 
opposite wall, watch it for a few seconds, and congratu- 
late yourself that it appears of sedate temperament, and 
walks so slowly, that at any rate it will be some time in 
reaching you. Lo, the next moment, it has alighted on 
your head, or bounced upon your writing paper, and you 
discover that it has wings as well as legs, and that you 



108 



INLAND. 



are entirely at its mercy. Moreover, if you make inquiries 
of your native servant, you will probably hear that if it 
walks over you it will create bad sores, a very favourite 
statement, to which you may attach as little credit as you 
please, but which, nevertheless, does not conduce to 
equanimity of mind. 

Really dangerous insects, such as scorpions and cen- 
tipedes, are comparatively rare, though I have seen both 
in bed-rooms, and was once awaked by a sharp bite, and 
found a centipede coiled under me upon the pillow. 
Fortunately it was not a very large one, for when these 
creatures grow, as they do here, to a length of six or 
seven inches, their bite is terrible. But the mere abund- 
ance of insect life, even when harmless, is a greater 
nuisance than the dwellers in a temperate climate can 
conceive. Some check is of course kept upon it by the 
various kinds of birds, lizards, and bats, which also abound 
here. Some of the lizards are frightful creatures, 
especially the long-tailed kinds, popularly, though most 
inappropriately called blood-suckers; but their ugliness 
is amply compensated by their wholesale destruction of 
cockroaches and other insects. My first introduction to 
one was rather startling, for it suddenly made its appear- 
ance close to me on the book-desk of our seat at the 
Cathedral, and amused itself during the greater part of 
the service with careering up and down the arm-chairs 
just in front, the occupants of which were happily un- 
conscious of its proximity. The face of one exquisite 
would have been a study for a painter, if he had caught 
sight of it in his new hat, which it seemed especially 
interested in investigating. From tip to tip, this crea- 
ture must certainly have measured more than a foot, 
the greater part of its length, however, consisting of an 
extremely attenuated and tapering tail. 

Subsequently, some eggs which had been turned up 



CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEASONS IN CALCUTTA. 109 

in the compound were brought to me, and I kept them 
in a glass jar to see the result. They were about the 
size of a hedge- sparrow's egg, but longer, and covered 
with a tough white skin ; and eventually five young blood- 
suckers emerged, which I kept for a few days, amused 
by their airs of preternatural wisdom. On another 
occasion, a similar experiment resulted in the hatch- 
ing of a batch of snakes, which were more speedily dis- 
posed of. 

The cast skins of these latter reptiles are often found 
in every large compound, and it is seldom that many 
weeks elapse without the creatures themselves turning 
up in some part of the premises ; but I believe that the 
commonest kinds are perfectly harmless. It is very diffi- 
cult, however, to arrive at any reliable information about 
either plants or animals in India, few Europeans taking 
any interest in the subject, and native statements being 
random in the extreme. I never saw a cobra in Calcutta, 
but they are common in the neighbourhood, and a fall- 
grown one was killed under the stairs in the house of a 
friend of mine, who, fortunately, saw it cross the hall. 
The Hindoos have a strange reluctance to injure this 
deadly creature, which indeed they appear to hold half 
sacred, though its bite is inevitably fatal. A series of 
most elaborate and careful experiments, made in Cal- 
cutta a few years ago, by three or four of the leading 
surgeons, seems to place it beyond a doubt that no 
known remedy can save an animal bitten by a vigorous 
cobra. Not only were all so-called antidotes unavailing 
but instant excision and cautery failed, even though a 
ligature had previously been placed round the limb, 
ready to be tightened the moment the bite was given. 

One small species of lizard, very gentle and inoffen- 
sive, is the constant inmate of every Indian house. It 
would be impossible to exclude it even if one wished, 



no 



INLAND. 



for it crawls like a fly in any direction : and few would 
desire to shut it out, for it is the sworn foe of mosqui- 
toes, and all other insects small enough to be its prey. 
Often it has beguiled me into half an hour of idleness, 
spent in watching its nimble and sagacious manoeuvres, 
crouching on the wall with wavering tail and rapt excite- 
ment, till some hapless cricket was near enough for a 
sudden spring, when the little hunter made short work 
with it, and was ready in a moment for another. Often, 
too, when safely enclosed in the mosquito curtains, I 
have seen it by the lamplight, careering along the trans- 
parent net, and pouncing on the mosquitoes waiting 
outside, athirst for blood. It is a slender pale brown 
creature with delicate semi-transparent skin and brilliant 
eyes ; and judging from the numbers seen either without 
tails, or with those appendages truncated or evidently of 
recent growth, it appears to dispense with that part of 
its body without much inconvenience. Its eggs are just 
like round white comfits, and one meets with them every- 
where, in table-drawers and wardrobe shelves ; but 
scarcely any one would wish to interfere with this gentle, 
clean, and useful little creature. 

Bats are sometimes a great pest, especially in very 
large and lofty bed-rooms. I have seen a dozen at a 
time, sweeping hither and thither for an hour together, 
not to be driven out by any attempt to flap or scare them; 
and especially if they are of the larger kinds, their 
presence is very unpleasant. Nor are these the only 
strange visitants to which one is liable in Calcutta. For 
a long time our bed-rooms were haunted night after night 
by a large kind of civet cat, too audacious and strong to 
be held or daunted by the most powerful trap we could 
procure ; and I have more than once waked at midnight, 
and found a large owl placidly gazing at me from the 
top of the mosquito frame. 



CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEASONS IN CALCUTTA. Ill 



Bats, owls, and civet cats are all, however, abundantly 
useful in their proper place. It is really interesting to 
watch the former on some close evening in the rainy 
season, when the winged white ants are streaming up out 
of the ground like clouds of vapour. On such occasions 
the servants were always summoned with kettles of boiling 
water to pour down every hole from which they issued, 
but meanwhile the excitement of the bats was wonderful. 
Wheeling round and round in every direction, they 
thinned the myriad insects at each turn, filling the air 
with shrill cries of eagerness and triumph. 

Eats and mice are of course the chief food of the owl, 
and of these there is no lack, the musk rat being 
especially common and offensive ; while the civet cat and 
all its kind are the hereditary enemies of snakes. 

One distinguished visitor which honours Calcutta 
with its presence only during the rains, is far too remark- 
able to be forgotten. This is the adjutant, a gigantic 
crane, standing about four feet high, with a large, heavy 
body, a small head, a huge bill, and wings which are said 
sometimes to measure twelve feet from tip to tip. A 
more ungainly and caricature-like bird probably does not 
exist, but it is useful, like the jackal and the crow, as a 
great devourer of refuse, and is said also to destroy rats 
and snakes. It certainly swallows lumps of solid bone 
larger than a man's fist, and it comes freely about the 
houses and compounds, perfectly quiet and harmless, but 
the most quaintly ugly creature living. Its body is grey 
and black, its neck red and bare, with a curious fleshy 
pouch dangling in front, and its huge beak the same 
colour, while its long legs have exactly the appearance of 
being covered with white stockings. Whether standing 
with its head buried between its shoulders, sitting on the 
ground with its long white legs stretched forward in the 
most awkward and unbirdlike attitude, flying, perching, 



112 INLAND. 

or hanging itself out to dry when its great black wings 
are saturated with rain, no words can render justice to 
its extravagant uncouthness. 

Perhaps the most ridiculous exhibition of itself that 
even an adjutant could furnish, was given when one 
alighted from an evening flight upon the summit of a 




Adjutant Crane. 



lofty tree close to our windows, and there, perched upon 
a branch which bent and swayed beneath its weight, 
proceeded to swallow some young crows that were quietly 
reposing in their nest below. This being naturally 
against the views of the parent birds, they made a 
great disturbance, and the sight of their eccentric long- 
legged foe aloft on the ticklish summit, flapping his 
huge wings and making strenuous efforts to main- 
tain his equilibrium, evidently considerably bothered 
by the uproar, but notwithstanding, diving with his 
great bill among the leaves, and gobbling down an 



CHAEACTEBISTICS 0T THE SEASONS EN CALCUTTA. 113 



unclean little one at every dip,, was absurd beyond 
description. 

About the middle of October the rains cease, and the 
heat begins sensibly to abate. The shopkeepers open 
the cases in which all delicate goods have been carefully 
tinned down, and the capital wakes up and brightens 
ready for the Viceroy's return, and the commencement of 
the festive season. The Doorga Pooja holiday is duly 
kept — by the natives with observances to be described 
hereafter, and by Europeans in up-country trips, for 
which the railway makes liberal provision ; and health 
and spirits alike revive with the return of weather which 
will make life for three months at least a luxury instead 
of an endurance. 

We have now run the usual round of the Calcutta 
year, but it will be scarcely right, perhaps, to close a 
description of the seasons, without some reference to the 
awful cyclones which from time to time sweep over the 
districts round the head of the Bay of Bengal. Eight or 
nine years used to be considered the ordinary interval 
between these tremendous visitations : but of late thev 
have happened much more frequently. Since the memo- 
rable one of 1864, when it was calculated that 50,000 
persons perished, drowned for the most part, in the 
fearful storm- wave that swept over the low lands along 
the Hooghly, there have been two or three of less 
importance, and I will copy from a minute description of 
one of these, written at the time, the chief features of its 
progress. 

" Friday, Nov. 1st, 1869, will be long remembered in 
Calcutta and the neighbourhood for the wide- spread ruin 
and devastation it brought. We had had very strong 
winds from the north for two or three days, increasing in 
violence,, and accompanied with rain on Friday ; and it 
was thought necessary, before going to bed, to look round 



114 



INLAND. 



and see that all the windows and sun-shutters were 
securely bolted. The former all open down to the floor, 
and are ten or twelve feet high, and four or five wide, 
folding back like shutters into the recess formed by the 
thickness of the walls. When closed, which they seldom 
are, except in storms, they are secured across the middle 
by a strong iron bar, about half-an-inch thick, and more 
than an inch wide. The sun- shutters are immensely 
strong wooden frames, with moveable Venetians panelled 
in them, each flap being four or five inches wide, and 
half-an-inch thick. These are secured by strong bolts, 
shooting upwards and downwards at the same time ; and 
the room doors, which are of the same size as the windows 
and very numerous, are composed of two very solid halves, 
fastened top and bottom by bolts. 

"These were all looked to, and any of which the 
fastenings were not satisfactory, tied with ropes. The 
house, which is large and lofty, faces north and south; 
the east and west ends and the south front of the upper 
floor being occupied by bed-rooms. 

" It soon became evident that there was no prospect 
of sleep, for the wind kept sweeping round in louder and 
louder gusts, shaking even this immensely solid building, 
as one may have felt a slight English house shake in a 
gale. Its first violence was directed against the east 
end, where the windows were soon obliged to be unbarred 
and folded back, lest the strong bars should fly and inflict 
some serious damage. The rain then beat in through 
the sun- shutters half across the room, and the eastern 
wing had to be abandoned to its fate, the bedding carried 
to the central south apartment, and the doors between 
the two barricaded with bedsteads, the bolts not being 
sufficient to hold them. 

" After a while the chief fury of the storm veered to 
the north, where the bath-room doors, opening inward, 



CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEASONS IN CALCUTTA. 115 

could not be barricaded, and slammed at every blast 
with a violence sufficient to shake any less solidly built 
house to pieces. Then the skylight in a side room was 
shivered, and the floor quickly strewed with glass and 
plaster, and drenched with rain. 

"Meanwhile the servants, who had remained on the 
premises in case of need, were endeavouring, with small 
success, to barricade the lower floor against the storm ; 
and I shall never forget the horror of one moment, when 
the doors that open on the landing burst open with a 
crash, and we saw a bearer trying to close a high stair- 
case window, while the wind beating it against him, 
threatened every moment to hurl him down to the stone 
floor of the hall below. He was quite bewildered by the 
noise, and though we shouted to him to come away and 
leave the window to its fate, it was some awful moments 
before we could make him hear and understand. Glass 
and plaster were flying in all directions, and at last we 
barricaded the north doors of the large bed-room as we 
had done the eastern ones, and left the rest of the house 
to the servants and the elements. 

" In the course of the night, the violence of the 
storm swept round to the west, which had to be aban- 
doned in its turn, and only the long southern bed-room 
was left for the assembled family. Here we walked up 
and down, and once or twice lay down and tried to snatch 
a few moments of forgetfulness, but the uproar was in- 
conceivable. The wind howled and whistled and beat 
against walls and windows, and now and then there was 
a peal of thunder; the great doors slammed at irregular 
intervals like discharges of artillery, and trees and walls 
were falling with such crashes, that it was impossible to 
distinguish between thunder, wind, and downfall. Occa- 
sionally some unusually loud report, followed by more 
banging and shivering of glass, would tell us that an iron 



116 



INLAND. 



bar was wrenched off in one of the abandoned rooms, or 
noises overhead would show that the battlements of the 
roof were yielding to the blast. 

ec At last, about half-past four it gradually abated, and 
I fell asleep, waking at six to look out upon such a scene 
of desolation as it is difficult to describe. We had some 
magnificent trees in the compound, splendid both for 
height and strength, and every one was either blowai down 
or stripped of its finest branches. Some of the limbs 
torn off were themselves as large as moderate sized trees, 
and six lofty casuarinas and two large bale trees lay up- 
rooted on the turf. Some had fallen against the com- 
pound wall, and laid it flat for many yards in various 
places ; and one blocked up the entrance gate, having 
narrowly missed crushing" the durwan in his lodge. All 
that remained standing, both trees and shrubs, were 
literally stripped of every leaf, and the compound was 
half under water. Landings and staircase were covered 
with pools, and though the glass doors of the lower floor 
had been kept shut by heavy furniture, every pane of 
glass was gone, and the hall and the whole ground floor 
half an- inch deep in mud and water. One or two doors 
were torn off, and several window-frames wrenched out 
of the masonry, the sun-shutters forced off their hinges, 
or literally blown to shivers out of their frames. One of 
the iron bars of the drawing-room windows had been so 
bent by the force of the wind that the staple would not 
hold it, and the other had been wrenched off, the rain 
driving in under an immensely wide portico, and wetting* 
even the bookcases at the opposite side of the room. 

" The solid white plaster, nearly an inch thick, which 
is used here both inside and outside the walls of houses, 
was shaken off in patches many feet square, the west end 
of the house especially, looking as if it had suffered a 
cannonade ; and a covered way with a strong arched roo 



CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEASONS IX CALCUTTA. 117 



of corrugated iron was completely stripped — the great 
sheets of metal, torn and crumpled like bits of paper, 
swept to the furthest corners of the compound. Many- 
natives perished in boats, or by the fall of trees and 
buildings, but comparatively few Europeans suffered. A 
native doctor not far from us lost four of his family by 
the fall of his house, and our cook's father was killed. 
Poor Kaloo walked about all night trying to find shelter 
for his children, one of them an infant of only a few days 
old; and scarcely a native dwelling was left standing in 
whole districts; but owing to the absence of any storm- 
wave on the river, the loss of life was much less than 
during the last cyclone, when it was calculated that 
50,000 persons perished. The Cathedral was partly un- 
roofed and the west window blown in, while heaps of 
dead crows and kites lay in all the streets, fifty being 
found in a neighbouring compound." 

On the whole, I was by no means sorry when it teas 
over to have witnessed a cyclone for once, but those 
whose lot is cast in quieter climates may well be thankful 
for their exemption from such terrific and destructive 
visitations. 



118 



V 

FAMILY LIFE AMONG THE HINDOOS. 

If the daily routine and surroundings of an English 
family in Calcutta present much that must seem strange 
to a denizen of the dear old country, what shall we say of 
the interior of a native household ? I approach this sub- 
ject with diffidence for many reasons; but I am deeply 
anxious that my countrywomen should know something 
of the real state of their Indian sisters, that they may be 
stirred up to more effort and prayer on their behalf, and 
I can at least premise that I will make no statement 
which I have not the best grounds for believing to be 
strictly and literally true. For this reason it is not my 
intention to enter deeply into the complicated social 
problems of India, but simply to sketch some of their 
salient points as they stand out before an unprejudiced 
observer. Doubtless there are books which enter fully 
into these matters, but I never met with one, or with an 
untravelled English person, who had any definite ideas 
upon the subject. And yet, until the people of England 
are roused to think and feel about the needs and claims 
of India, there is little hope that any great improvement 
will be effected. No one can at all estimate the gigantic 
obstacles that lie in the way of her true progress without 
some knowledge of such fundamental peculiarities of 
Hindoo family life as I will now attempt to describe. 



FAMILY LIFE AMONG THE HINDOOS. 



119 



One of its most striking points is the system which 
keeps all the members of a family, irrespective of age or 
ability, in subjection to its head, and mutual dependence 
on each other ; and this, again, is linked with the custom 
of early marriages, and the degradation of the female sex. 
To illustrate these important points, let us take the case 
of some Hindoo family in the middle ranks of life; for the 
system extends, with little modification, from the highest 
down to the lowest stratum of society, and a description 
of one will in this respect serve for all. 

The first great fundamental law of family life requires 
that every girl, under penalty of the direst disgrace, 
shall be a wife before she is ten years old. The first 
anxiety of every parent is, therefore, to arrange for the 
marriage of his female children, and to prepare their 
dower, which frequently consists only of a variety of 
ornaments. By the time a girl is seven or eight years 
old, or even earlier, everything is generally ready, and a 
boy husband has been found whose parents are satisfied 
with the connection and with the promised dower, or the 
number of gold or silver necklaces, bracelets, anklets, 
and head ornaments wnth which the little creature can 
be decked. Of course no one dreams of consulting the 
children's wishes, nor, if they did, would any objection 
be likely to arise. The first idea instilled into the mind 
of a baby girl is that of marriage as the great end of life, 
and almost the only prayer that she is taught is one for 
early marriage and motherhood, with the added petition 
that her future husband may take no second wife. 
When the day comes, the children are decked in all 
their finery, and carried through the streets with more or 
less of pomp and display, discordant music, flags and 
garlands, and gaily dressed relatives and friends, some- 
times forming quite a long procession. What ceremonies, 
religious or other, are performed at the bride's home, I 



120 



INLAND. 



do not know, but there are always some days of feasting, 
and all classes spend sums ruinously out of proportion to 
their means on these occasions. For a while the little 
bride lives in her father's house, only visiting at intervals 
in her future home ; but when she is ten or eleven she 
goes to live there altogether, and she is frequently a 
mother at thirteen. 

Her boy husband, perhaps a year or two, probably 
several years, older than herself, lives, meanwhile, in his 
father's house, going to school or college daily with his 




Palankeen used in Marriage Processions. 



brothers, all his sisters having been drafted off in like 
manner to other homes ; and as each boy marries, his 
child wife is brought in due course, and immured for life 
under his mother's care and absolute authority. No 
matter how large the number of sons, they usually all 
live on in the father's house, adding their earnings to 
the common stock ; their wives inhabiting the zenana 



FAMILY LIFE AMONG THE HINDOOS. 



121 



or female apartments, together with mother-in-law, and 
perhaps grandmother and aunts. In course of time the 
elder members of the family die off, and a younger gene- 
ration fills their place, and it must necessarily sometimes 
happen that some family division or call of interest removes 
one or more branches to another locality : but the system 
I have described is the normal family life of the Hindoo. 

One good results from it, amid much evil. Family 
bonds are intensely strong among them, and if any 
member of the household dies, his wife and children are 
not left destitute and homeless, as is too often the case in 
England. As long as he was able to work, his earnings 
went towards the common support, and when he is 
removed, those who belonged to him have still an equal 
right to the shelter of the roof and a share of the family 
provision. In households so large, and with the neces- 
saries of life so few and cheap, a few more mouths make 
little difference, and his sons will grow up to contribute 
in their turn, while his daughters will be married before 
any one can look upon them as a burden. Hence, except 
in case of famine or pestilence, there is none of the abject 
and piteous destitution that so often makes the heart 
ache in our civilized land. It is even difficult — almost 
impossible — except under the circumstances just referred 
to, to get an orphan child to clothe and educate ; and so 
far it is well, and one might almost think that India has 
the best of the comparison. But, looked at in any other 
aspect, the picture is dark indeed, repulsive and dis- 
couraging. These early marriages are the result of an 
utter disbelief in womanly purity — a disbelief which is 
consistently manifested in all the subsequent arrange- 
ments. From the time the child wife becomes an inmate 
of her husband's home, she is a prisoner for life, never to 
be looked upon by any other man. The house may be a 
large and handsome one, furnished, as many of the baboos' 



122 



INLAND. 



houses are, in lavish and gaudy style, but its spacious 
rooms and their conveniences and luxuries are not for the 
women of the family. Their rooms are built round an 
inner court, low, close, ill-lighted, and ill-ventilated, with 
no outlet to the street ; and within these narrow walls the 
wives and mothers of India live and die. 

Once or twice in their lives, perhaps, they may revisit 
their father's houses, or even remove with their husbands 
to another home, but they must do it carefully screened 
from public view. A palankeen is brought into the 
zenana, the woman gets into it, and the sliding doors are 
shut, and then, to prevent the possibility of any chink 
being left, a crimson cover is slipped on over all. Not till 




Palankeen for Native Ladies. 



this is done are the bearers allowed to carry their burden 
into the open street ; and the cover is not removed till she 
has been conveyed in like manner into the women's 
apartments at her place of destination. So strict is this 
custom that it is recognized in English courts of law, and 
if any woman of the higher ranks is required to give 
evidence, she is either examined by a Commission, the 
members of which are admitted to the zenana, where they 



FAMILY LIFE AMONG THE HINDOOS. 



123 



tender the oath and receive her deposition, with a curtain 
drawn between her and them • or she is carried into court 
in her covered palkee, and the judge and counsel descend 
to it and hear her evidence through the double screen. 

The higher the rank, the closer the bondage, and to 
any one who knows their state, it seems only a sad 
mockery to call any of these poor creatures by our noble 
English name of lady. Even with us it is sadly abused in 
these days, but it still implies, at any rate, some degree of 
rank, wealth, or education ; and if we reflect for a moment 
what these words mean with us, we shall see how little a 
title derived from them can suit a case so different. 

Rank among us implies either personal achievement 
or generations of refinement and intercourse with civi- 
lized society; but in India every link in the ancestral 
chain only binds the hapless female in a closer thraldom, 
and restricts her from even the freedom of motion and 
action which the very poor enjoy. Wealth, in England, 
suggests surroundings that are in themselves an education, 
and opportunities of foreign travel and of cultivating tastes 
for everything beautiful and refined in nature and art. 
In India, it can clothe a woman with transparent drapery, 
and load her with jewels, furnish her with the finest 
tobacco for her hookah, and with abundant attar to 
sprinkle her garments ; but it is powerless to elevate her 
mind, or to bridge over the immeasurable gulf that sepa- 
rates the mere female from the lady. And as to education 
— take any English child of ten or twelve years old, even 
from a school where a good and liberal foundation has 
been laid, shut her up from all society, except that of her 
compeers, place her under the absolute control of a totally 
uneducated mother-in-law, let her have two or three 
children of her own before she is fifteen, and never catch 
a glimpse of the outer world to the day of her death, — ■ 
and say what education worthy of the name can exist in 



124 



INLAND. 



sucli a case. No books, no needlework, no pictures, 
except the vilest daubed prints from their most vile 
mythology, no accomplishments, except cookery, no 
employment, except smoking and playing with their 
jewels and their children, no knowledge of the grand past, 
or the busy present, or the eternal future ! Yet this is 
the life — these are the homes — of the ladies of India. 

I should not venture to draw such a picture solely 
from personal knowledge, necessarily limited : or even 
from the accounts of those who have spent years in making 
themselves acquainted with the customs of the country ; 
but I can appeal to Hindoo writers of the present day in 
corroboration of its perfect truth. Not long ago, a series 
of lectures on the physical influence of their social habits 
was delivered in Calcutta by an educated native, and 
reported fully in the daily papers. I have no distinct 
recollection, either of the lecturer's name, or of his 
general drift ; but one thing especially struck me. He 
went fully into the subject of zenana life, and condemned 
it to a certain extent as injurious, allowing that change 
was desirable; but this, not on behalf of the women who pass 
their whole lives in these confined apartments, but for the 
sake of the men, whose health must suffer from sleeping 
there, after spending their days in open shops or offices, 
or in the free ventilation of their own spacious rooms ! 

Unquestionably, there are exceptional cases, where a 
husband happens, perhaps, to be an only son, of liberal 
mind and devotedly attached to his wife, and will spend 
his own leisure in instructing her, and fitting her to be his 
rational companion. I have heard of Hindoo ladies, 
under these or similar circumstances, becoming deeply 
read in Sanscrit literature, and even going far into the 
profundities of mathematical science ; but such instances 
are extremely rare. Again, a sect has lately risen among 
educated Hindoos, repudiating idolatry, and breaking 



FAMILY LIFE AMONG THE HINDOOS. 



125 



loose from old customs so far as to worship one God, and 
mix freely with Christians, and even bring wives into 
society, and allow them to travel by train. Of this sect, 
called the Brahmo Somaj, and well known in England 
since the visit of its eloquent apostle, Keshub Chunder 
Sen, more must be said hereafter. It is only necessary 
here to remark, that though in some sense influential, 
they are very few in number, and that the sum of all these 
exceptions forms an utterly inappreciable fraction of the 
women of India. The vast masses, in every rank, are 
condemned, from childhood to old age, to the purely 
animal existence described above. 

It may, perhaps, be asked, " But how is it possible to 
find husbands for the whole female population ? We 
know how difficult it is to get off a large family of 
daughters in England ; and how can they manage to 
marry every Hindoo girl before she enters her teens V 
The answer is easy. In the first place, it is well known 
that the balance of the sexes at birth is, if anything, in 
favour of the male ; and if the female population of any 
country preponderates, it is because of the greater loss of 
life among men from accident or war. In India, where 
marriages are contracted before the age when there can 
be much exposure to these risks, this disproportion does 
not exist. Again; in England many women are left single, 
not because there are no men to marry them, but because 
marriage with us involves a separate establishment, and 
necessitates some amount of means. In India, owing to 
the family system I have described, the bringing home of 
a wife does not necessarily involve any appreciable 
expense. Even children are little burden, when they 
require no clothes, no nurses, and no furniture, and merely 
share the family provisions of curry, rice, and sweetmeats. 
And, once more ; in England, some ladies have more than 
their fair share of husbands, and it is obvious that if they 



126 



INLAND. 



were legally restricted in this respect, there would be a 
considerable number of would-be Benedicts obliged to 
choose wives from the single sisterhood. Such a law does 
prevail in India, and its consequences are far more serious 
than any one would at first thought imagine. Let us try 
to realize them as they affect both sexes ; and, in order 
to do this, we will take no imaginary or uncommon case. 

Think of a child of six or seven, trained from infancy, 
as I have said, to look on marriage as the chief good of 
life. The time has come for her to be decked in bridal 
finery, and affianced, it may be to a boy-husband, or it 
may be to a full-grown man. The ceremonies are duly 
performed, the days of feasting ended, and the little, 
bedizened creature is beginning to return to her child life 
again, only distinguished as a wife by the red powdered 
spot which every married woman wears above her fore- 
head. She is looking forward now with mingled hope 
and wonder to the time when she will be transplanted to 
her husband's home, and begin to be a wife indeed. But 
one day, ill tidings come — the husband whom she has 
scarcely seen has been seized by disease or accident, and 
he is dead, and she a widow. Well may the poor child 
weep and rend her hair, for however little love could exist 
in such a case, her sun of hope and happiness is set for 
ever. Less than fifty years ago, that loss would have 
sealed her death-warrant, and she would have perished on 
her husband's funeral pile ; but thanks to the fearless 
humanity of Lord William Bentinck, the horrors of suttee 
are rarely practised now — all persons concerned in such an 
outrage being amenable to English law. But still her fate 
is terrible. Not only is she forbidden all hope of second 
marriage, not only must she live and die solitary and 
childless, but she is looked upon by every one as a burden 
and a disgrace — a being who must be allowed to live, 
because English law is stronger even than old custom, 



FAMILY LIFE AMONG THE HINDOOS. 



127 



but who may be justly made the scapegoat of every family 
quarrel and misfortune. Never again must she adorn 
herself with the jewels so dear to the native heart, never 
wear any dress but the plain, white garb of mourning, 
never sleep upon a bed, never touch any but the simplest 
food. The ordinary share of household kindness is denied 
her, and in fasting and privation, unloved and unpitied, 
she must spend all the weary years that may lie between 
her and the funeral pile. It is little wonder that if 
temptation can but find a way into their prison-house, 
such hapless creatures fall an easy prey, and that the ranks 
of female vice in India, apart from the dancing-girls, who 
are bought in infancy and trained to a life of shame, are 
filled almost exclusively by widows who have escaped from 
this intolerable bondage. 

Nor are the evils of this law confined to women ; it 
cuts both ways, though not with equal severity. True, a 
man who loses his wife may marry again ; but whom ? 
Not a woman, for unmarried women there are none. He 
must wed a little girl, and wait till she is old enough to 
become the guarded inmate of his zenana. If he could 
marry a widow, there are numbers of suitable age who 
would gladly embrace such an offer of escape from misery ; 
but it is impossible. Not that there is any authentic 
prohibition, even in their own ancient sacred books ; but 
all-powerful custom is against it. They would be out- 
casts — and one must go to India to learn the full purport 
of that dreadful word. The loss of caste, to the Hindoo, 
is like the greater excommunication at the most servile 
period of the middle ages. No one will eat with him, or 
meet him in friendly intercourse — he is marked in life and 
accursed in death, and the same penalties are entailed upon 
his children. More than once lately, wealthy and influen- 
tial natives, partly from selfish and partly from philan- 
thropic motives, have endeavoured to break the fetters of 



128 



INLAND. 



this cruel law. They have arranged to marry widows, 
and have secured the support of friends pledged to 
stand by them in the daring innovation ; but in too many 
cases only misery has been the result. Not long ago, 
the tragic termination of one such venture attracted so 
much notice, that there is no breach of delicacy in com- 
menting upon the circumstances, as they were reported in 
Indian and English newspapers. 

The Hon. Maroba Canoba was a man of rank and 
education appointed by Government to the post of 
Judge in one of the Bombay Courts. Left a widower 
with a grown-up family, while still in the prime of life, 
sense and feeling revolted at the idea of marrying a little 
child, and he resolved to brave all consequences, and choose 
a widow of suitable age for his second wife. How the 
choice was made and the preliminaries arranged, I do not 
know — probably by means of one of the old women who 
act as match-makers in India, going from house to house 
where there are marriageable members, as tolerated and 
welcomed gossips, expatiating upon the beauty and en- 
dowments of female children to the mothers of boys and 
men, and vice versa. Any way, the arrangements were 
concluded, and the Judge, backed by the promised support 
of many influential friends, married a widow of five and 
twenty, who was only too glad and thankful to accept the 
offer. 

I well remember the satisfaction with which the event 
was hailed by the Anglo-Indian press, and the hoges 
expressed that so conspicuous an example would do 
much to abolish prejudice and inaugurate a new era. Bat 
Eastern custom is a barrier against which men may dash 
themselves and die — a despotism as irrational and un- 
feeling as the granite walls of a prison house. All that 
remains to be told of Maroba Canoba and his hapless wife 
was ably summed up in a leader in one of the chief English 



FAMILY LIFE AMONG THE HINDOOS. 129 

papers early in 1871. They became tenderly attached to 
one another, and their happiness, as English novelists say, 
was rendered complete by the birth of a son; but neither 
precaution, wealth, position, nor mutual affection could 
avert the curse of the outcast from their devoted heads. 
The grown up sons harassed their father's life with law 
suits and contentions, and all the petty tyrannies of daily 
insult and persecution made the zenana intolerable to the 
unwelcomed wife. They could neither endure nor escape 
the misery; and so one night they left their sleeping 
babe and walked out under the still Eastern moonlight to 
their death. They must have sat down on the parapet of 
the wide well, and deliberately tied themselves together 
with the husband's scarf; for they were found next 
morning under the deep water clasped in each other's 
arms ; the wife, true to the traditions of her race, having 
arrayed herself in her costliest apparel for the sacrifice. 

Before you blame them, free denizens of happy Eng- 
lish homes, thank God for the long ages of liberty of 
thought and action that have made it simply impossible 
for you to comprehend their bondage ! 



9 



130 



VI 

EDUCATIONAL EFFOBTS AND EELIGIOUS DIFFICULTIES. 

Though the peculiar customs of India present such 
obstacles to the education of women, no difficulty lies 
in the path of in em, and Government has done niuch, 
especially of late years, to encourage learning among 
the higher and middle ranks. It is now quite possible 
in Calcutta, and other towns where there are affiliated 
colleges, to obtain an education sufficient for a university 
degree at the monthly expense of only a few rupees. 
Scores of young men annually complete this course, in 
which Shakespeare and other English classics take the 
place occupied by Latin and Greek authors at our 
universities ; and history, geography, astronomy, and 
other sciences are studied, as well as mathematics, for 
which the Hindoo mind has an especial aptitude. 

Religion, till lately, was carefully excluded; and even 
now, though the prohibition is removed, I believe that no 
credit is given for theological marks in the university 
examinations. It is strange and sad to see how per- 
sistently a professedly Christian government has ignored 
in all its dealings with this great country that which is a 
nation's true crown and glory, the real secret of strength 
and progress. The very heathen despise and reproach us 
for this cowardly negation, for they see nothing in religion 
that a wise man need be ashamed to own, and they cannot 



EDUCATIONAL EFFORTS AND RELIGIOUS DIFFICULTIES. 131 



understand the existence of a faith that never declares 
itself before men. 

The result so far of this experiment of cheap and 
advanced secular education is anything but satisfactory 
or hopeful. 

True, no educated man can really remain a Hindoo in 
religion ; for this monstrous faith is so interwoven with 
monstrous scientific errors that it must fall before even a 
superficial knowledge of physical truth.* But, alas ! 

# One or two instances in various scientific departments will 
sufficiently illustrate this. They are taught that the earth is flat, 
having in the centre a mountain, round which the sun goes, 
causing day and night. Round the inhabited part of the world is 
an ocean of salt water, encircled by an annular continent, bounded 
on its outer edge by a sea of milk. Then comes another ring of 
land, and an ocean of butter-milk; another, and a sea of ghee; 
another, and one of molasses, or sugar-cane juice ; another, and a 
sea of honey ; another, and an ocean of fresh water, beyond which 
lies a mountainous barrier and outer darkness. 

There was once a deluge which swept everything into the sea 
of milk, and the gods lost the amreeta drink which secured their 
immortality. To recover it, they and the demons churned the 
ocean with Mount Mandra which they rolled to and fro, using the 
five-headed serpent Yaysooke as a rope. The juices of all trees 
and flowers, and melted gold, being churned in the flood produced 
the desired drink, with which the gods recruited their immortality. 
A demon named Rahoo managed in the confusion to partake of 
the drink, but his theft was denounced by the sun and moon, and 
Vishnoo struck off his head before the immortalizing fluid had 
gone down his throat. His body consequently perished, but the 
head remained immortal and ascended to the sky, where he 
swallows the sun and moon whenever he can catch them, and thus 
occasions eclipses ! 

Again, as regards medical science, the following prescription 
is taken from a work on the treatment of children, called Balagraha 
Pustaka : — " Children who have reached the age of one year, one 
month and one day, are often seized by a goddess named jNandini. 
The symptoms are fever, crying in an unnatural tone, refusing the 
breast, swelling of the stomach and staring with a fixed upward 



132 



INLAND. 



nothing is given to fill tlie void thus made — they are 
crammed with such knowledge as feeds the intellectual 
conceit which is perhaps the strongest tendency of the 
native mind, while the soul is left to itself, and the moral 
faculties uncultivated ; and the result is as might be 
expected^ that they too often take their degrees and go 
out into life inflated with the most ludicrous self-impor- 
tance^ and utterly unballasted by principle, clever mathe- 
maticians and subtle disputants, but without honesty, 
breadth or earnestness ; aping English vices, and adding 
to the in a sordid meanness, trickery and ingratitude most 
repugnant to the English character. It is scarcely 
possible to depend upon college examinations even as a 
test of scholarship, from the frequent and scandalous 
instances when candidates . have managed to possess 
themselves of the questions beforehand, by tampering 
with employes of the Post Office or the printing press. 
Instead, too, of recognizing as a boon the education 

gaze. For this, the offering is as follows : — Bring some earth from 
the two sides of a flowing stream, and form it into an image ; dress 
it in a white cloth ; offer to it white flowers, sandal powder and rice, 
betel nut and leaf, curds, boiled rice, a lamp fed with good oil, 
black beads, palmyra leaf, coins, ghee, jaggery, and three kinds 
of soaked grain. Then in the evening place all these things on a 
new tile, and put them down outside the city towards the east, 
and utter this incantation : — 

6 goddess Nandini, to thee I make my salutation ! 
Come ! Come ! 
goddess possessing this child ! Cease! Cease!' 
Then offer as incense margosa leaves, chips from the horns of 
cattle, ghee, and hair from the child's head, and afterwards bathe 
the child with water drawn from five wells. Thus for three days 
must the goddess be appeased. " 

Other spirits named Sunamati, Mithuni, Marari, Kanjaki, 
Koukani, Alasugi, Irimbhini, Ardini, Mveshini, Archini, and 
Adbhuti have their favourite ages, the last being given to attacking 
children whose age is twelve years, twelve months, and twelve days. 



EDUCATIONAL EFFORTS AND RELIGIOUS DIFFICULTIES. 183 

so freely placed within their reach, they consider that 
Government by bestowing it, pledges itself to reward 
their scholarship with some lucrative employment ; and 
as this expectation musty in the majority of cases end in 
disappointment, no inconsiderable element of discontent 
and danger is year by year infused throughout the 
country. The native papers are filled with the most 
insolent and preposterous comments on public affairs, 
written by men who owe their very ability for mischief to 
the unwise liberality of their rulers, and a great power 
for evil is thus rapidly growing up in India. Men, who 
but for this cheap and advanced education would have 
remained in their natural obscurity, disappointed of the 
public offices which are the great object of their ambition, 
cut loose from the anchorage of old tradition, and with 
no humility to ballast, or faith to guide them, are likely to 
become very fire-ships, scattering mischief and ruin, if once 
the spark of war is thrown into our Indian possessions. 

Any file of Indian newspapers will furnish samples 
enough of this dangerous spirit, couched in language 
ludicrous from the combination of high-sounding; words 
and defective grammar, and irritating from its insufferable 
insolence and conceit ; but I will only quote one specimen 
in which the element of absurdity largely predominates. 
It is probably merely a squib from some English hand; 
but the native characteristics both of sentiment and lan- 
guage are hit off with singular felicity ; and its genuine- 
ness is by no means an impossible alternative. 

It was called forth by an article in one of the English 
newspapers which expressed surprise and disappointment 
that so few of the educated natives of India showed any 
disposition to exert themselves for the improvement of 
their country; almost ail preferring any petty post which 
allows its occupant to lead an indolent and sedentary life to 
the far superior appointments in the engineering service 



134 



INLAND. 



for which natives might be peculiarly eligible, because less 
liable to suffer from exposure to the sun than Europeans : — 

" Sir, — I had pleasure to discern the article which 
was made to appear in your journal anterior to some two 
or three weeks previously, with reference to the enter- 
tainment of native gentlemen to the superior emoluments 
of the Department of Public Works; and as you will 
indubitably delight to be made known with the conside- 
rations of a superiorly educated and matriculated native 
gentleman of higher order with reference to the aforesaid, 
I assume my foolscap and pen and ink to compose an 
epistle, the reception of which, if it is favourable by you 
(which I do not doubt it would be), you must insert in 
the typography of your too influential organ. 

"The great motive why native gentlemen not now 
entering the Department of Public Works, but sooner go 
to dull work in Collector's Office on rupees 10 per 
mensem, than be in the interesting condition of D. P. W. 
Overseer on rs. 60, is because D. P. W. overseers have to 
pedestrianate or itinerate on horseback too much, and 
often abide in the sun till even 12 o'clock neon a.m. 
This is no matter for Europeans, who are strong just like 
coolies and vain to be so, and for low-caste men who are 
irrespectable ; but for high-caste native gentleman it is 
respectable only to be weak. 

" My late respected father, who departed this mortal 
coil some time previously, and was a Tahsildar, was 
thought great deal of by all peoples, except European 
peoples, because he could not walk far or abide in the 
sun; and two or four times, when assistant-collector 
made him come to inspect some lands was carried in 
palkee, while assistant- collector walk like strong common 
fellow ; when my father doing this merasidars, and all 
peoples complimenting him much. How also can higher 
native gentleman with plenty respectful abdomen ride 



EDUCATIONAL EFFORTS AND RELIGIOUS DIFFICULTIES. 135 

many miles quickly without horsekeeper ? "Will he not 
be ill, and will not people think him common fellow if he 
does so ? Therefore, native gentlemen will not now 
assume posts in D. P. W.j but if they are inserted into 
higher posts where they can do what they like only, then 
some may do so, and this should be the case ; for is it 
not now acknowledged that native gentlemen who have 
done go to college and learnt every knowledge are supe- 
rior to Europeans which come to this country, many of 
which have not even matriculated ? Therefore, every 
matriculated native gentleman, if liking, should be put in 
the post of Executive Engineer, and every B.A. in Super- 
intending Engineer's post. If this justice be done, and 
native gentlemen Executive and Superintending Engineers 
allowed to live near their own villages, and give them Euro- 
pean subordinates to do rough work in sun, then perhaps 
some matriculated students and B.A. will consent to enter 
the department, and so it will be improved. 

" But present European Engineer people here don't 
want this. This I am acquainted with, for after perusing 
the article in your organ I considered how the ''mighty 
blank/ the Press saying native gentlemen must be put 
in lofty public works and telegraph posts, this will soon 
be done, and I went to one Superintending Engineer, and 
informed him I required an appointment. After a short 
conversation in the English dialect, in which I spoke 
very fine language, and told him I had matriculated and 
learnt everything, he wrote some questions just same like 
examination papers, which he presented me to answer. 
This I did with greater accuracy and facility, and not 
only so, but corrected some improper orthographies in 
the questions ; but the Superintending Engineer would 
not appointment me, excusing that he had no post to 
suit such clever person. I informed him that I would take 
even 4th Executive Engineer's post; but though I pres- 



136 INLAND. 

and press, and talk very beautifully for nearly one hour, 
lie would not give same, and in a sudden getting angry 
like most Europe people, lie tell peon to turn me out of the 
office . Thus we all see that Engineer people here don't 
want highly educated and matriculated native o-entlenien in 
the Department. I will now bring this epistle to a finish. ;; 

There is something almost pathetically ludicrous in 
this specimen of folly and conceit ; but one meets con- 
tinually in daily life with instances of insolence and 
meanness that make it very difficult to keep one's temper 
and retain any charitable feeling towards the baboos as a 
class. For example, I have seen a letter from one of 
them to an American lady who was devoting her life to 
the teaching of native women in their zenanas. His wife 
was one of her pupils, and I am not sure whether he paid 
anything for her lessons, but if he did it was not many 
shillings a month ; and as Hindoo ladies never go out, 
their teachers not only have to drive to and fro in the 
mid- day heat to visit them, but have the trouble of pur- 
chasing and supplying all materials for the fancy work 
which they are particularly fond of learning. Some 
trifling article, previously procured, had been inadver- 
tently charged at less than cost price, and another being 
now required, the full sum, amounting to 2^d. was charged 
for it. The purport of the letter, a long one, and written 
in very fair English, was to complain of what the husband 
considered an overcharge of § d. ; and to ask, with the 
coolest insolence, for a list of all the prices of materials, 
as he was afraid they might be doubled next time ! 

Another baboo, a member of one of the wealthiest 
families in Calcutta, whose liberality in feeding hundreds 
of poor daily through the famine, had been duly extolled 
by the public press, sent one of his secretaries to arrange 
for a teacher to come two or three times a week to his 
wife ; and it was only after much hesitation and chaffering 



EDUCATIONAL EFFORTS AND RELIGIOUS DIFFICULTIES. 137 



that he agreed to give eight rupees (sixteen shillings) a 
month to pay for her instruction ; the lady teacher being 
all the while supported by a society in America, and 
obliged to keep her own horse and carriage to enable her 
to visit her pupils. It does, indeed, require a large amount 
of Christian patience to deal with such people and con- 
tinue to do them good, which they so little appreciate. The 
women have much more generosity of disposition, and there 
is much that is amiable and attractive about many of them. 

The foregoing remarks, though widely applicable, 
must not however be taken in too sweeping a sense ; and 
especially would I guard against being supposed for a 
moment to imply that there are no native officials, or pro- 
fessional men of really high character. Every one familiar 
with Indian public life could name numbers who reflect 
honour on their country; but the system of secular edu- 
cation cannot fairly claim the credit of producing these, 
and it does unquestionably bring forth in shoals the men 
described above. 

Supple, insinuating, and subservient to his superiors, 
and grasping and pitiless in his dealings with those 
beneath him, the worst vices of the Hindoo character 
are often most mischievously displayed by the lower 
officials in Government employ, especially in the collection 
of taxes from the poorer classes. This is placed in their 
hands to a great extent from the sheer necessity of the 
case; and there is no doubt that extortion as gross as 
that which made the name of Publican abhorrent to the 
Jew is consequently practised upon the ignorant and 
timid, the odium of it, falling, of. course, upon the Govern- 
ment. Truly said the wise man, "A. poor man that 
oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain that leaveth 
no food and nowhere are his words more frequently 
verified than in India. It is impossible to keep any 
satisfactory check upon unscrupulous officials of the lower 



138 



INLAND. 



grades, and the amount of rankling disaffection kept up 
by their rapacity is a matter of serious anxiety to those 
who watch the under- currents of feeling that sway the 
ignorant masses of the population. 

The public ceremony of conferring degrees upon the 
successful candidates in the Calcutta University and its 
affiliated colleges, is a curious and interesting sight, 
which takes place annually in the Townhall. The Bishop, 
the Chancellor, and Vice- Chancellor of the University, 
and all the high officials, civil and military, who are 
members of the Syndicate, occupy a dais at one end in 
their appropriate robes, and below on each side are ranged 
the successful candidates, almost all natives, and very few 
of them Christians. Almost all wear the peculiar flat, 
striped turban before described, which combined oddly with 
academic gowns and scarfs, and with the white trousers 
which most of them assume, at least for this occasion. 

Just in front of the dais are ranged the seats for ladies, 
and behind these, and filling every corner of the hall, are 
hundreds of baboos, in all varieties of attire. Gorgeous 
smoking-caps, or turbans of showy colour and material 
adorn their heads, and vests and long upper garments of 
corresponding magnificence, with white scarfs folded 
diagonally across the breast, and white muslin drapery 
below, complete their array. One portly Zemindar or 
landowner, from a distance, was especially conspicuous on 
one of these occasions. Upwards of six feet high, and stout 
in proportion, he walked about beaming with satisfaction, a 
benignant son of Anak in gold spectacles, his turban green 
and white, of helmet shape with flaps behind, and a long 
robe of shot and flowered satin, in which yellow and red 
were the prevailing colours, enfolding his portly person. 

In such a scene, with punkahs swinging overhead and 
attendants waving huge palm leaf fans behind the brilliant 
assembly on the dais, the formal English ceremony of 



EDUCATIONAL EFFORTS AND EELIGIOUS DIFFICULTIES. 139 



conferring the degrees seems not only incongruous but 
flat and commonplace. The Registrar and the heads of 
Colleges merely present their respective candidates to 
the Vice-Chancellor, who hands to each his diploma, the 
young men bowing a l'Anglaise or salaaming native 
fashion as they retire. The whole winds up with more or 
less of lengthy speech -making, and would be a cheering 
and hopeful spectacle but for considerations not patent to 
the casual observer. Some of these have been already 
adverted to, and we will now turn for a moment to the 
disastrous effect of their peculiar family life on these 
young men, who ought to be the hope of India. 

Instead of looking forward with the healthy natural 
anticipation which seems an instinct of Western youth, 
to independent entrance on the great struggle of life, and 
to a home, humble perhaps, but precious because his own, 
and blessed by the presence of the one woman whom he 
hopes to win, the Hindoo youth returns to the same life that 
he has led from boyhood, and will probably lead, with little 
variation, to old age. He is married already to a child 
in years, who can never be a true helpmeet, because cir- 
cumstances forbid her ever being more than a child in 
mind; and home is no true home, but rather a sort of 
family club, where all the male members of the household 
take their meals together. There is no real freedom 
of thought or action, and little motive for self-improve- 
ment or energy. Employed or unemployed, active or 
indolent, he and his may live here and take their share 
with the rest as long as there is property enough or em- 
ployment enough among them all to keep things going. 

Think of these hundreds of youths, fully sensible of the 
absurdity of their national religion, and despising it in 
their hearts, yet keeping up its outward observances 
because any failure in these would attract the notice of 
the ignorant and bigoted elders of the family ; and try to 



MO 



INLAND. 



realize the case of one who has heard enough of Chris- 
tianity to be mentally convinced of its truth, and seriously 
disquieted in conscience by its requirements. If he 
begins to drop any of the idolatrous observances which 
are interwoven with every act of daily life, to visit the 
missionaries or frequent their preaching, he draws down 
upon himself difficulties of no common order. There are 
too many eyes upon him for any defection to escape 
notice ; brothers, cousins, uncles, and father are soon 
upon the watch, and he is questioned and cross-questioned, 
reproached and surrounded with a system of restraint and 
espionage that either checks his rising aspirations, or 
compels him to face at once a still sterner ordeal. If the 
authority of a father is powerless to bind him to the old 
faith, the prayers and tears of wife arid mother are called in; 
and if these are unavailing, there remain the curse of the 
latter and the sternest separation from the former. Thus 
the very virtues of the Hindoo character, its deep affec- 
tions, and the strength and sacredness of the filial bond, 
which are nowhere perhaps more generally acknowledged 
than in India, form the strongest obstacles to the progress 
of Christianity. The women, necessarily ignorant and 
narrow-minded from their secluded position, are intensely 
wedded to the ancient superstitions in which they see no 
folly j and the horror and despair with which they con- 
template the apostasy of son or husband, are unfeigned, 
and agonizing to the last degree. Many of them, until the 
subject is thus brought home, have actually no idea of the 
existence of any other religion than their own. "What! 33 
said the aged aunt of my pundit, when he told her some- 
thing of our discussions, " is it possible that there exists 
a woman in the world who does not worship Gunga ?" 

Even among those who are a degree better informed, 
and who are aware that there is a religion called Christi- 
anity, the wildest misconceptions prevail, and the most 



EDUCATIONAL EFFORTS AND RELIGIOUS DIFFICULTIES. 141 



unfounded calumnies are credited. The truth would be 
bad enough in their esteem, for no moral transgression 
could shock the feelings of an orthodox Hindoo like the 
eating of beef — and alas, in this particular, English 
Christians are notorious offenders ; but in addition to 
this, all the extravagant slanders propagated by ancient 
heathenism against the early Christians are widely cir- 
culated, and the most atrocious crimes believed to be 
practised in connection with our holy faith. I knew an 
instance where a high-caste Hindoo of considerable literary 
attainments had been converted to Christianity through 
the influence of a venerable fellow-countryman, with 
whom he became acquainted while at a distance from all 
his family. He was thus spared all the usual hindrances, 
but when the news of his baptism was carried to his 
distant home, it produced intense dismay and indignation. 
His mother set out at once on the long journey to 
Calcutta to assure him solemnly that he should never be 
received, or see his wife's face again, unless he renounced 
his accursed faith and procured by penance and payment 
his restoration to the privileges of caste. The poor man 
carried his difficulties to his friend and teacher, and found 
a valuable ally where he could least have expected it. 
An aged aunt of the latter, who still clung to the old 
faith, but had been supported and kindly treated by her 
nephew ever since he became the head of the family, 
volunteered to go to the stranger and bear her testimony 
that she had lived for thirty years in a Christian house- 
hold, and that no wickedness was done among them. 

But it is rare indeed for a new convert to meet with 
help like this, and it requires no common steadfastness to 
face the fierce tide of reproach and opposition that is sure 
to burst upon him. There is no need to multiply 
instances when the whole case speaks for itself; but 
instead of wondering at the slow progress of the Gospel 



142 



INLAND. 



in India, and growing impatient over the scanty roll of 
converts, we should rather marvel and. rejoice that so 
many are enabled by God's grace to stand. 

Nothing can put the matter in a stronger light than 
the touching appeal of one young Hindoo convert to the 
missionary who was urging him to seal his faith by 
baptism. " Sir," he said, " have you a wife ? Is your 
mother living ? Could you bear at once to have your wife 
taken from you for ever, to hear your mother curse you, 
and see her grey hairs in the dust at your feet ? I must 
have strength for that before I own myself a Christian." 
No one who has not heard the wild wailing of these im- 
pulsive Eastern women, and seen the helpless, despairing 
way in which they fling themselves, face downwards, to 
the earth and grovel in the dust on a far slighter occasion, 
can realize fully the force of these words ; but I think few 
Englishmen, with all their boasted strength of character 
and independence of training, could face such an ordeal 
calmly ; and there are doubtless thousands in Bengal at 
this moment who would declare themselves Christians at 
once, but for the strength of female influence. We must 
bear in mind that the mother's authority is paramount 
with a Hindoo — even their common forms of speech bear 
testimony to this. A. Hindoo speaking of his parents 
never says " father and mother," as we invariably do ; — 
it is always "ma-bap/' mother and father. Literally or 
metaphorically it matters not — the mother always comes 
first; a servant, a petitioner, a subject craving his sove- 
reign's grace — all use the same language, " You are mother 
and father to me, forgive me, or grant me this boon." 

Need we add more to prove that, humanly speaking, 
there is little hope for Christianity in India till the women 
can be reached, and that if only the wives and mothers 
could be won, the greatest obstacles to progress and. to true 
religion would at once be swept away? Of the efforts 
made in this direction we must speak in another chapter. 



143 



VII 

ZENANA TEACHING. 

Before entering upon the subject of this truly Christian 
work, it may be well to state distinctly, that my views o 
it are merely those of an outsider deeply interested in the 
effort, but never personally engaged in it. Perhaps this 
will dispose some to attach more weight to the accounts 
which follow than is often accorded to the regular reports 
of religious societies and their agents. Unfortunately, 
many residents in India, as elsewhere, may live for years 
in a place, and never care to inquire what Christian work 
is going on around them ; and when they come home, 
and are questioned on the subject, their answer too often 
is, " Missionary work ! converts to Christianity! — don't 
believe a word of it ! Why, I lived in that neighbourhood 
for three or four years, and I never so much as saw a 
native church, or heard of a single convert being baptized \" 
Such people at home probably never see the inside of a 
hospital or a Sunday school, and know nothing of the 
agencies at work in lanes and alleys within sight of their 
own back windows ; and they might just as reasonably 
deny the existence of Christian and missionary work in 
England as in Bengal ; but, unhappily, their random 
statements are often taken for much more than they are 
worth. And if this is the case with regard to ordinary 
missions, which are necessarily attended with some degree 



144 



ISLAND. 



of publicity, how much more must it be expected when 
the question is of work among women in the close seclu- 
sion of a Hindoo zenana ? More than once, friends 
wrote to me from England, asking whether anything was 
really being done, and quoting acquaintances, who, after 
years of residence in India, ridiculed as utterly impossible 
the idea of any Christian effort for the native ladies of 
Calcutta. Nay, even in India, we once met the widow of a 
chaplain, who had lived for years in the successive stations 
to which her husband was appointed, and yet actually 
professed not to know what a zenana was ! 

It may not, therefore, be useless to state that within 
my personal knowledge, there are tw^o mission homes in 
Calcutta — one in connection with the Church Missionary 
Society, and the other supported by an American mission 
fund, in which English, American, and East Indian ladies 
reside, devoting themselves entirely to the work of zenana 
teaching ; besides other labourers in the same wide field, 
connected with the Established and Free Kirks of Scotland, 
and the Baptist and other denominations. From the two 
first mentioned, offsets have been established in many of 
the towns of northern India, and a similar work is also 
going on in and near Madras. I leave further statistics to 
the authorized reports of these societies, wishing to confine 
myself throughout these sketches strictly to matters of 
personal knowledge. 

Many of the ladies thus engaged were my own intimate 
friends, and I have spent days in accompanying them from 
house to house. What follows is copied almost verbatim 
from letters written on the spot ; for it seemed worth 
while to incur the risk of a little repetition, in order to make 
it clear that these accounts are simple and literal tran- 
scripts of facts as they fell under impartial observation : — 

" Yesterday I spent in going about with Miss 

to visit some of her zenanas, and this first day certainly 



ZENANA TEACHING. 



145 



destroyed many illusions. I used to fancy that these 
Hindoo ladies, if they were prisoners, had gilded cages, 
and imagined them dressed in silk and embroidered 
muslin, seated on gorgeous couches, etc., etc. jSTo such 
thing. All the houses we visited were inhabited by people 
of good caste, and one was a very large place, belonging 
to one of the richest baboos in Calcutta ; but even here the 
apartment and furniture of the lady were more like the back 
parlour of some petty haberdasher's shop in an English coun- 
try town than anything else. The lady was certainly decently 
dressed (the only one I saw who was so according to our 
ideas) — that is, she wore a muslin jacket and a sort of muslin 
petticoat, formed of a long piece twisted round her, — and 
she could read in c Line upon Line/ and do simple dicta- 
tion and sums, and had begun to learn to draw, and was 
even working a pair of slippers to send to the Viceroy — 

Lady Lawrence having once 
been to see her, which was 
an honour to be remembered 
for life. But in most of the 
houses the women's rooms 
were close and poor in the 
extreme, a large bed or couch, 
and perhaps a small table 
and one or two chairs, being- 
often the only furniture. The 
ladies, naked to the waist, or 
with only a loose piece of mus- 
lin thrown over their should- 
ers, stood or sat on the 
floor, for there were not seats 
enough for all, to look at us 
and ask questions ; children, 
perfectly naked, ran in and 
out ; and I could rather have fancied myself in some spot 

10 




Native Lady. 



146 



INLAND. 



beyond the limits of civilization than among members of the 
respectable middle class of a great capital. And yet there 
was something very interesting and nice about many 
of these poor young -wives. Their faces were bright and 
intelligent, and they seemed very gentle and affectionate, 

sitting by Miss , and holding her hand, and pressing 

her to come again. They all, especially the children, have 
the most magnificent eyes and eyelashes imaginable ; 
all go barefoot, and most of them had their hands and feet- 
dyed red with henna. As we went from house to house, 
stranger baboos twice asked us to visit their zenanas, and 

of course we complied, Miss being - anxious to 

extend her circle of pupils. 

" I could neither speak nor understand, except as she 
interpreted; but they seemed delighted even to see a 
stranger, complimenting us repeatedly upon our fairness 
and good looks, and wondering exceedingly that we were 
not married. We went altogether into seven zenanas, and 

in all, except the two new ones, Miss gave lessons 

in reading, writing, arithmetic, and needlework, which 
were evidently fall of interest for the poor, imprisoned 
creatures. In some houses, the mother of the family, two 
or three of her daughters-in-law, and some of their 
children, were all pupils together, besides others crowding 
into the room to listen and look on ; and one can fancy 
what a beam of light from the outer world the coming of 
the English lady must shed in these secluded rooms. How 
far the light of another world may gain admittance is 
another and a far more difficult question — one, however, 
that often receives answers full of encouragement. At 
least, prejudices against Christianity must vanish before this 
friendly intercourse ; and even employment for the mind 
and for the fingers is a priceless boon to those who, 
without this teaching, would spend an absolutely idealess 
existence. I asked one of them how they used to p'ass 



ZENANA TEACHING. 



147 



their time before the teacher came, and she replied, c We 
used to bathe and plait our hair, and cook, and eat, and 
sleep, and smoke, and play with our jewels, and eat and 
sleep again/ I believe they all cook for their husbands, 
though they do not eat with them; and they make a 
great variety of sweetmeats, of which those made of cocoa- 
nut are very nice. 

" The whole day was very interesting, though most 
fatiguing. The driving about in the intense heat, and 
then sitting in those close crowded rooms, sometimes 
without a punkah, makes it very trying, and one feels so 
sad for these poor caged creatures. I think I never 
appreciated so strongly the blessings of Christianity. 
Looking at these Hindoo ladies, and then turning to my 

friend, Mrs. , whose father was reared a Hindoo, so 

that she is only a Christian by one generation, the change 
seems nothing short of a miracle, for she is as intelligent, 
refined, and well educated as any ordinary English lady." 

The two letters following contain the account of one 
day's adventures in a scattered district some miles from 
Calcutta, which had been for some time regularly visited 
by members of the American Zenana Mission. They are 
given almost in extenso, because they furnish the only 
record of what was to me, at least, a singularly novel and 
interesting expedition. 

" My dear L 

" Yesterday, I accomplished my long- delayed excur- 
sion, and will now give you some account of it for the 
benefit of those who feel uncertain whether zenana 
teaching is not all a myth and an imposture. To 
begin at the beginning, I got up soon after five, and 
after a very hurried breakfast drove to the railway station, 
which I reached before seven. There I was joined by Mrs. 

, who chiefly carries on this mission, and her sister, 

I , wh6 has not very long been oat in India, and we 



148 



INLAND. 



were soon speeding along in the delicious freshness of the 
morning air towards our destination. The railway journey 
lasts about half- an-h our, and then we descended at a little 
roadside station where there is no waiting-room, and after 
a little delay secured a gharry. This is the general name 
for all vehicles here, but they are of very various degrees 
of excellence or the reverse, and the only one to be had 
that morning was decidedly at the lower end of the scale. 
There were neither windows nor door, only sliding 
shutters, between which we had to step over into a sort 
of well in the middle, and we ought then to have been 
able to close them, but they obstinately refused to move, 
so we were obliged to hold a large umbrella out on one 
side to screen us from the scorching glare. Moreover, 
the gharry was so low in the roof, that we could not sit 
upright with our hats on, and so begrimed from contact 
with Bengali heads, redolent of cocoa-nut oil, that we did 
not like to take them off, and being, moreover, exces- 
sively cramped for space, our ride was none of the most 
agreeable. 

" I mean to write and give Lucy a description of some 
of our adventures, but to you I will write only of zenana 
and school work. The first place we visited was a school 
supported by the mission, at which about thirty scholars 
attend daily. There is a paid resident schoolmistress, 
but as she is not a Christian, she cannot be much de- 
pended on, and requires constant looking after. You 
would have been astonished to see her dress. She was a 
slight, prettily formed young woman, and her only cloth- 
ing was a long piece of white muslin wound round 
so as to cover her nearly from head to foot, but not 
more than a single thickness anywhere. I had never 
seen any one so transparently attired before, but Mrs. 

told me that the higher the rank the thinner the 

dress, as a general rule, and that some of the rich baboos' 



ZENANA TEACHING. 



149 



wives wear the thinnest gauzy material put on in the 
same way. 

"The children were little, bright-looking creatures, 
some of them not more than eight or nine years old. 
wearing the red spot which distinguished them as wives, 
others unmarried. They read and spelt in Bengali, 
answered from Watts's Catechism in the same language, 
wrote, and did sums, and showed their needlework just 
like English children, but incidents occurred now and 
then that brought heathenism prominently forward. For 
instance, an old man walked into the court before the 
school verandah, and going up to a little insignificant 
plant, salaamed to it repeatedly, and then began to gather 
a few leaves. This salaam, which is the usual salutation 
to a superior, is performed by putting the hands to the 
forehead in a peculiar way, and bowing low, at the same 
time, saying, e Salaam, salaam (Peace, peace)/ Mrs. 

told me that this plant is found about every house, 

and that it is worshipped, or used in almost all their 
prayers. She questioned the women about it, but they 
seemed unwilling to answer, and we could not gather 
positively whether they prayed to it, or with it, but they 
certainly salaam to it, as they would to a god or to a 
superior. I send you a blossom and a leaf or two, which 
they did not object to give us. It is apparently some- 
thing of the sage kind, but I am not botanist enough to 

give it a name. We left Mrs. at this school, and 

went back to the burning ghaut, which I must describe 
to Lucy, then to two other schools, and finally to a large 
zenana. The other schools are also supported by the 
mission, but taught by pundits instead of women. In 
one the children said some Bengali hymns, and we tried 
to teach them to sing a translation of c There is a happy 
land/ but, in consequence of the late festival, the attend- 
ance at all three was very small. 



150 



INLAND. 



" When we readied tlie baboons house, we took our 
tiffin of sandwiches and fruit, in an empty room, and 
then went through the intricate passages and up the 
narrow dark stairs that characterize the zenana precincts, 
to what was really our afternoon' s work. In this one 
house there are upwards of fifty souls, including the old 
grandfather and grandmother, great aunts, etc., all the 
sons and sons' wives, and all their children and grand- 




Native Ladies and Children. 



children. Of course we saw none of the men, except 
casually outside the zenana, but the women were all very 
glad to see us, and some of the little children were the 
dearest little brown things you can imagine. Under five 
or six years old, they go perfectly naked, except, perhaps, 
a heavy silver girdle, and large silver rings on their 
ankles, and the plump, sleek creatures, with their splendid 
eyes, and pretty, demure ways, were most droll and 
winning. I cannot tell how many there were altogether, 



ZEXAXA TEACHING. 



151 



but they were very quiet and good, and came to us quite 
fearlessly to be nursed and petted. One, just old enough 
to wear a saree, and whose Bengali name signified 

c Immortal Maid/ sat on I ; s lap, and ate sweets 

from her hand, and finally went to sleep in her arms, the 
mother looking on, quite complacently ; and yet it is but 
a few years since these people would have considered the 
touch of a European's garments pollution. 

" The young wives and mothers read and repeated 
lessons in Bengali and English, did sums, and showed 
their fancy work, repeated hymns, and asked us to sing 
to them. They were reading a Bengali translation of 
( Daybreak in Britain/ which you may have seen in the 
' Sundav at Home/ and the less advanced ones read 
c Line upon Line/ Then they talked, and asked us 
questions in very simple, child-like fashion, and when I 
made some remark about the children's silver girdles, 
they fetched out all their jewelry to show us. All these 
married children had their sets of ornaments — slender 
nose-rings, plain or with pearls ; large, slight ear-rings, 
two or three inches in diameter, with a gold fringe round 
the lower half; double and triple gold bands for the 
head, and six or sevenfold strings of pearls for necklaces. 
Then there were gold chains for the throat, one kind 
of bracelet for the upper arm, and two or three for the 
lower; girdles of gold or silver, and curious massive 
rings with a fringe of silver bells, for the ankles. One 
of the girls amused herself with putting as many of her 
bracelets as were large enough on my arm, and she had 
nearlv enough to cover her own. 

" I was tired, and my head ached from being out so 
much in the sun, therefore we spent the afternoon here, 
instead of going on to any other house. Ton would 
expect that with all this profusion of jewelry, they would 
have, at least, comfortable furniture, but this by no means 



152 



INLAND. 



follows. I cannot say what the men's apartments were 
like^ but the poorest people in my old district would 
think themselves ill off indeed, if they had no more of the 
conveniences of life than these Hindoo ladies. The floor 
was cement, without mat or carpet ; there were no glass 
windows, only wooden shutters ; and the only article of 
furniture I saw was the rough wooden bench we sat on. 
Some sat by us, others squatted on the floor with their 
arms round their knees. All were barefoot, but this is 
partly a religious, partly a social, prejudice, like that 
which forbids them to wear any dress which has been cut 
out and sewn together. Their clothing is thus restricted 
to the saree, or long piece of calico or muslin, wound 
round the waist, so as to fall below the knee, and 
another thrown over the shoulders so as to form a pre- 
carious covering for the body, and be drawn at will over 
the head and face. When alone, I fancy they seldom 
wear anything above the waist, or, as the pundit ex- 
pressed it in rather imperfect English, e They have 
nothing up a stair/ Their only books were those the 
Christian ladies had brought; their first lessons in 
needlework of any kind came from the same source ; and 
even their ideas of decency had been gradually imbibed 
from the zenana visitor. 

cc I might have gone into a dozen rich native houses 
in that village and found everything the same; or into 
300 or 400 houses in Calcutta and met with the same wel- 
come ; and yet people even here affect to treat zenana visit- 
ing as an impossible and Quixotic undertaking. The fact 
is, that if there ever was a place where you may live for 
twenty years and not know what is going on in the next 
street, that place is Calcutta. 

" Finally, we drove back to the station, having secured 
our delightful vehicle for the day, at the moderate charge 
of half a crown, and reached home about 6.30 p.m., 



ZENANA TEACHING. 



153 



after nearly twelve hours of incessant talk and driving 
about in the sun. My friends do this two or three days 
every week, and spend the other days teaching in the 
same way in Calcutta. 

" It is slow and often discouraging work, but step by 
step it is preparing the way for the regeneration of India. 
It is the women of the elder generation that keep back 
their sons and husbands from Christianity, but by God's 
blessing this will not long be universally the case. 

u You can judge a little by this unvarnished account 
of what is being done daily in scores of Hindoo homes, 
clans in themselves ; and I think and hope that it will 
quicken your interest in the work. " 

" My dear Lucy, 
. . . . "I will not waste time in preliminaries, 
as I want to give you a true, full, and particular account 
of some incidents in the expedition omitted in I/s. letter. 

"As we were driving from the station to the first 
school, we passed a series of swamps by the roadside, 

which Mrs. told me were supposed to be connected 

with a peculiarly holy branch of the Ganges. The people 
consequently come from considerable distances to bathe 
in them, and the dead are brought there to be burnt, and 
the dying to die. We saw the smoke as we passed, and 
as I had always wished to see the ceremonies at a burn- 
ing ghaut, we alighted and walked to the shade of a large 
peepul tree near the place. The roadside was irregularly 
fringed with trees and shrubs, beyond which, just here, 
there was a slight descent, and then a small open space 
between the road and the water. This is the place of 
burning, and though very near the road, it is so far 
screened by the shrubs and the descent, that any one 
might pass it every day and never suspect the use to 
which it is applied. At first, as we went down, I onlv 



154 



INLAND. 



saw two smouldering fires, bat in a moment my attention 
was called to a body wrapped in a cloth, lying with its 
legs in the water, and as I took another step forward to 
see it better, I nearly trod on another corpse stretched 
on the ground at my feet. My companions saw a man 
whom they knew standing by, and on inquiring after his 
uncle, an old man whom they were going to visit, found 
that he had died after only a day or two ; s illness, and 
that his body also was soon coming down to be burnt. 
Another Brahmin was pointed out to us as the brother of 
the corpse at our feet, but there was no one belonging to 
the one lying by the water. She had been brought there 
dying, and now her friends were gone miles away to 
fetch their Brahmin to officiate." 

(It is well known that Hindoos are often brought 
down in their last moments to die by the sacred stream, 
from the belief that this secures their everlasting happi- 
ness ; but of one horrible fact connected with this custom, 
I was not aware till afterwards. If any mistake has 
been made, and the seemingly dying person shows 
symptoms of returning life, he is not allowed to revive. 
If he did live after being solemnly carried to the Ganges, 
it would be as a dishonoured reprobate whom the 
goddess refused to receive ; and so in very love and pity 
any appearance of returning life is soon quenched with 
mud and water from the river. It is impossible to tell 
how many are hastened out of this world by compliance 
with these horrible superstitions.) 

" We tried to gather from the men belonging to the 
place when the rites would begin; but finding that, as 
usual, we could get nothing reliable as to time, we 
resolved to ero on to the schools and return in three or 
four hours, leaving Mrs. — — > who did not share our 
curiosity, to teach till tiffin, and take us up on her way 
back. "When we arrived, however, about twelve o'clock 



ZEXAXA TEACHING. 



155 



we found ourselves too late for two burnings and too early 
for the third. The corpse of the woman still lay on the 
muddy bank under the scorching sun, with its legs in the 
water, but the old man and the other body were burning 
in the centre of small compact piles, kept from falling 
apart by stakes driven into the ground at each corner. The 
fires blazed furiously, and there was a thick smoke which 
sometimes blew towards us, but I did not perceive any 
peculiarly offensive odour, and for some time saw nothing 
of the bodies. At last, some logs from the fore part of 
the old rnan's pile fell away, and left his head and one 
shoulder standing out in ghastly clearness, black and 
shining with smoke, but horribly perfect and hideous. 

"Just before this, one of the bystanders, a tall 
Brahmin, bare to the waist as usual, except his sacred 
thread, bareheaded and barefooted, came up to us, and to 
my surprise addressed me in very fair English, with the 
inquiry whether I thought burning or burying the best. 
As I had not then seen anything unpleasant, I told him 
that I thought it mattered little which, so that the soul 
went right 5 and then followed one of the most interest- 
ing discussions I ever took part in. He began by saying 1 
that he agreed with me, and that he believed in the end 
every one would go right. I replied that men could have 
no certainty on such subjects except by revelation from 
God ; and that what we held to be God's Word gave no 
ground for any such idea. 

" Then he went over all the old universalis! arguments 
— that God was a merciful Father, and would never con- 
demn His creatures to everlasting punishment; it would 
be only for a time, to purify them, as men were put in 
prison to make them better; but as he could not say that 
men were generally the better for imprisonment in this 
life, I told him I could see no hope of their reclamation 
after death, when the Good Spirit, whose life-long striv- 



156 



INLAND. 



ings they resisted had departed, and they had only evil 
ones for companions and tormentors. 

" c But/ he asked, ' how conld a merciful God have 
made creatures for such a doom ? 3 I answered that 
God never did, that He made man to be holy and happy, 
but that man had used his free will to choose evil rather 
than good ; and that even then God had not left him to 
himself. He had made the greatest sacrifice possible 
even to Almighty love, in giving His Son to live and die 
for us ; and had charged all who believe in Him to 
spread the knowledge of this salvation everywhere. 

" Then he fell back upon the wickedness of many 
Christians, and I owned it ; urging in reply, that if 
Christians were bad, they were so in spite of their 
religion which inculcates truth, purity, and godliness, and 
gives us the example of a perfectly holy Being ; but that 
it was far otherwise with heathenism. I appealed to him 
whether his sacred books did not represent his gods lying, 
stealing, and committing every kind of folly and wicked- 
ness ; and he could not deny it, but said e That he did not 
believe in those gods ; he belonged to the Brahmo Somaj, 
and worshipped One alone/ 

"Then I asked him if his belief satisfied him and 
made him good and happy. He replied frankly, ' No, it 
was very hard for a man to follow always what was 
right/ e Yes/ I answered, c the only religion strong 
enough to make men good and happy, is the Christian. 
It gives a motive strong enough, the love of Jesus, and a 
power strong enough, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit/ 
' Well/ said he, c there are Hindoo women of the old 
school, devotees, who scrupulously do according to their 
books, and their faith makes them happy. It is good 
for them and yours is good for you/ 

" ' But even granting that/ I answered, e give some 
little knowledge to those Hindoo women ; teach them even 



ZENANA TEACHING. 



157 



the little that you know of science, etc., and their faith 
will be swept away, and their happiness with it. Here is 
a great difference ; for the more enlightened a Christian, 
the surer is his hope and the brighter his faith/ 

u He tried to turn this off, but I kept him to the point, 
and at last he was obliged to own the contrast \ and I 
urged him not to rest in uncertainty, but to read the 
Gospel with earnest prayer for the Spirits teaching. He 
was very unwilling to give a serious promise at first ; 
but at last he owned the folly of treating such a matter as 
a mere idle question of the day, and promised that he 
would study it in earnest. 

" It was terribly hot, and at last we dared not stand 
longer in the open air, though we had solah hats and 
umbrellas ; so we went to sit down and rest in a native 

dispensary close by, till Mrs. arrived and took us 

up, our Brahmin friend promising to send us word before 
the woman's funeral rites began. 

" It was strange even then, and it seems stranger now 
that I am sitting quietly at home, to think of our position 
— English ladies, miles away from any other European, 
standing on a burning ghaut in that wild spot, speaking 
freely of the Gospel to an educated Brahmin ! I wish I 
could give you a better idea of what passed; but I am 
writing in breathless haste. Much is left out, and, of 
course, I do not pretend to verbal accuracy ; but you may 
be sure that nothing is added to the truth. 

"We had begun our tiffin, when a messenger came to 
say that the officiating Brahmin had arrived ; so we set off 
again, and were in time to see the whole. I am glad that 
I have seen it once, for it is well to know the truth of 
matters that are often enshrouded in a very flattering 
haze ; and I must confess that at one time, dazzled 
by poetic descriptions of classic funeral rites, I was 
ready to think cremation preferable to burial ; bu^ 



158 



INLAND. 



the recollection is one of unmitigated loathsomeness and 
sadness. 

"A pile had been built, about four feet long by two in 
width and height, and the Brahmin, a coarse and evil- 
looking man, was squatting on the bank under his 
umbrella, superintending the rites, if such they could be 
called. Two men, of the lowest caste — for none other 
will touch the dead — went to the poor body, which must 
have been fast advancing towards decomposition, un- 
wrapped the sheet, and lifted the corpse into a sitting 
posture. Another man then put something (ghee, I 
believe,) into the mouth, and poured a large vessel of 
water over the head and body. The Brahmin, mean- 
while, kept his comfortable posture, chanting a few words 
occasionally in a loud, sing-song tone, and then the two 
men lifted the body to carry it to the funeral pile. They 
would have stripped it perfectly naked, the clothes of the 
dead being their perquisite, but our friend, who still stood 
by, called out to them in Bengali to leave some scrap of 
covering on our account. So this poor remnant of 
decency was observed ; but as they laid the body on the 
pile, it was seen that one of the legs had been extensively 
gnawed by something in the water, and a pariah dog came 
sniffing round to try and get his share. They drove him 
away, but the pile was so short that they had to double 
up the limbs as close as possible before they heaped on 
more logs and packed it all in together. Meanwhile, the 
Brahmin chanted a few words now and then, but never 
stirred from his seat under the tree. There were no 
mourners, or, at least, none whom we could distinguish as 
such; but when all was ready, a man, who was said to be 
a relation of the dead, came forward with a wisp of dry 
grass, lighted it with a cinder from the Brahmin's fire, 
and waved it several times round the pile. Then he set 
fire to it near the head of the corpse, and the Brahmin, 



ZENANA TEACHING, 



159 



turning to us with a horrid grin, said, 'Ho gya V (It's all 
done). Neither of us felt inclined to linger, for the whole 
impression was revolting and loathsome in the extreme. 
There was not a single redeeming element — no decency, 
no pity, no love, no prayer — only the hard and pitiless 
exhibition of all that is most saddening and degrading in 
poor human mortality." 

It is a relief, after the contemplation of a scene like 
this, to turn again to the efforts made to introduce a better 
state of things, and to be assured that there exists no 
natural inferiority to hinder the elevation of the native 
race. Repeatedly, on other occasions, I have attended 
examinations in various Christian schools, where native 
boys and girls of even the lower castes, and with the addi- 
tional difficulty of studying two languages, passed the 
ordeal quite as satisfactorily as any school of the same 
class in England. In many things the females are espe- 
cially apt to receive instruction ; and it is impossible to 
overestimate the benefit that might be conferred by an 
extended system of zenana teaching. 

But for this there needs a vast increase both of funds 
and teachers. The present workers are labouring to the 
very limits of their strength • but instruction could be at 
once extended i>o hundreds more of families, if the funds 
of the societies permitted an adequate increase of the staff. 
There is need for judgment, circumspection, faith, and 
patience in those who engage in such a work ; but surely 
it is a blessed thing to be permitted to carry the light of 
truth and civilization into these weary prison-houses, and 
give their denizens something beyond mere animal employ- 
ments in this life, as well as some glimmering of a better 
world to come. It is scarcely too much to say, that every 
Hindoo lady who hears of the zenana teacher is anxious for 
her visits ; and the sordid meanness of the baboos, which 
only welcomes education for their wives when it comes to 



160 



INLAND. 



them free of cost, irritating and repulsive as it is, ought 
not to interdict the boon. In this matter, it may be said, 
with fullest truth, that demand can only be produced by 
supply ; and as education becomes the rule, instead of the 
rare exception, among high class Indian women, the pride 
of the baboos will require it for their wives, and they will 
pay for it as they do now for jewelry and sensual luxuries. 

Indifference and selfishness may well be borne with 
meanwhile by those who feel that the brightest hope of 
real good for India lies in the Christian education of its 
women. 



161 



VIII 

FESTIVALS AND FESTIVITIES, RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL. 

I do not propose in this chapter to attempt any sys- 
tematic account of the religions of India, but merely to 
describe some of their more striking features as they fell 
under my own observation. It may be necessary, however, 
to preface the account with just a few words about the 
leading deities in Hindoo mythology. 

The first of these gods in rank and importance is 
Brahma the Creator, to whom, however, no temples are 
built or sacrifices offered, in consequence, according to 
some writers, of an abominable crime which he is said to 
have committed.* Still, the legends respecting him are 
important, because they are the origin of the caste divisions 
which exercise such tremendous influence upon the whole 
social system of India. Instead of making one man and 
woman the progenitors of the whole human race, and thus 
establishing a bond of universal brotherhood, he is said to 
have produced from different parts of his body the ances- 
tors of the several castes, which are consequently for- 
bidden to intermix. The Brahmins, destined to be priests, 
philosophers, lawgivers, etc., sprang from his mouth; the 
Kshatriyas, or warrior caste, from his arms ; the Taishyas, 
or husbandmen, from his thighs ; and the Sudras, whose 

* It is difficult, however, to accept this explanation when the 
monstrous and multiplied vices of his fellow-deities are no 
hindrance to their divine honours. 

11 



162 



INLAND. 



office was to serve the others, from his feet. The 
members of the first three castes were called twice-born, 
and distinguished by wearing round their necks a sacred 
thread, but the Sudras were distinctly excluded from all 
their privileges, and a Brahmin instructing one in religion 
would be liable to everlasting punishment. Even among 
the several twice-born sects, all intermarriage and social 
intercourse were strictly forbidden, and it is needless to 
remark upon the inhuman selfishness and exclusiveness 
to which this system gives rise. Strict Hindoos will see 
a fellow creature drowning or dying by the road- side, 
and not extend a helping hand, lest they should be 
polluted by contact with a man of inferior caste, such 
pollution entailing a considerable amount of expense and 
penance, as well as disgrace and odium, before it can be 
removed. Some writers maintain that the Kshatriyas 
and Vaishyas are both extinct, and that of the three 
twice-born sects Brahmins alone remain ; but a number 
of lower castes have sprung up, the members of each 
keeping separate and following the same occupation from 
father to son. Thus we hear of the writer ca ste, the 
fisherman caste, the weaver caste, etc.; but I need not 
enter further into this complicated subject. 

The second member of the Hindoo Triad of gods is 
Vishnu the Preserver, generally painted blue or black, 
and represented with four arms, who is said to have 
repeatedly become incarnate to save the world, and is 
still expected to manifest himself a tenth and last time 
as a warrior mounted on a white-winged horse. His 
early incarnations were as a fish, a tortoise, a boar, a man 
with a lion^s head, etc. ; and his eighth avatar was as a 
man named Krishna, whose filthy history is said to be 
perhaps the most abominable part of their obscene my tho- 
logy. He is also worshipped in North India under the 
names of Earn and Juggernaut, and his great festival the 



FESTIVALS AND FESTIVITIES, RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL. 163 



Earn Mela, which is more observed in other provinces 
than in Bengal, will be described hereafter. The low 
standard of Hindoo morality can be no matter of surprise 
when even their sacred books, as is the case with his 
history, are too foul for literal translation; neither is it 
astonishing that educated and enlightened Hindoos are 
ashamed of such legends ; and either attempt to allegorize 
them or reject them altogether, with all the bondage of 
ceremonial and prohibition, returning to the teaching of 
the older and purer Yedas, and engrafting upon it a good 
deal of the Divine morality of the Christian Scriptures. 
Hence has arisen the increasing and influential sect called 
the B rah mo Somaj, the doctrines and worship of which are 
scarcely distinguishable from those of western Unitarians, 
whose writings are indeed extensively studied by Hindoo 
reformers, and exercise a remarkable influence over edu- 
cated thought. 

The third member of the Triad, whose history and 
worship are said to be equally obscene, is Seeva the 
Destroyer ; but whatever his deeds and character may be, 
he sinks into practical insignificance in Bengal beside 
his wife Kali, Doorga, Gunga, or Bowhanie, as she is 
variously named — the most prominently worshipped deity 
of the province. The river Ganges derives its purifying 
and saving virtues from the supposition that it is a per- 
sonification of this goddess, who was induced by the 
astounding penances of king Bhaguratha to descend to 
earth in order to purify the ashes of his 60,000 ancestors. 

Her great festival is the Doorga Pooja, during which, 
images representing her as a woman with ten arms, 
made of baked clay and gaudily painted, are set up in 
every Hindoo house. These are consecrated by a Brah- 
min, who places the fingers of his right hand succes- 
sively on the eyes, nostrils, mouth, and breast, saying, 
" Goddess Doorga, descend and dwell in this image." 



164 



IK LAND. 



She is tlien supposed to come down and animate it, and 
it is worshipped for seven days with offerings of in cense, 
flowers, and food, prostrations, feasting, music, and 
dancing. All the images are then carried in procession 
round the city, and finally thrown into the river. The 
closing ceremony is still worth seeing, though immea- 
surably diminished from its former splendour, and less 
attended every year. The chief attraction is the gay 
crowd of natives in holiday dress ; the bright yellows, 
reds, and greens that mingle in their costume, often 
edged with gold and silver tinsel, looking very dazzling 
under the glowing sky* It has in other points much the 
aspect of an English fair, except that one sees none of 
the intoxication that is the shame of every British holi- 
day. Many of the men, as well as children, carry gaudy 
playthings in their hands, made of solah pith, and painted 
in bright colours to represent cockatoos, cobras, etc., and 
almost every individual in the crowd would be a pic- 
turesque subject for a painter. Here is a swarthy mous- 
tachioed Seikh, with a voluminous white turban, and a 
face and drapery worthy of Etty's colouring ; there a 
portly zemindar, with turban of purple' and yellow, and 
other garments of green, white, and violet • or a slim dark 
lad with a violet skull cap edged with silver, and a long 
close-fitting garment of bright green silk lined with crim- 
son. As for the little children, they are bundles of finery, 
literally decked- in all the colours of the rainbow. 

The larger idols are carried in large fan- shaped alcoves, 
and are three in number, representing Doorga and her 
daughters. Numbers of these being brought down to 
the river, each one is placed on a platform resting on 
two boats lashed together, priests and worshippers sit- 
ting before them, playing on musical instruments and 
fanning the idols with large fans. These boats, with the 
cumbrous gaudy load of painted clay, and the living 



FESTIVALS AND FESTIVITIES, RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL. 1G5 

freight of worshippers, are towed along by others, and 
move slowly up and down the broad river among the 
huge merchant vessels, watched by hundreds of spec- 
tators on the bank, till the boats are unlashed, and as 
they move apart, the gaudy framework, idols and all, 
sinks with a lingering splash, and all is over. There is 
no shouting, no crowding, no reverence, no enthusiasm, 
and perhaps scarcely a stronger proof can be offered of 
the decay of the Hindoo religion in Calcutta, than the 
general indifference to this once imposing ceremony, 
The festival is still kept as a holiday in deference to 
ancient custom, to the great hindrance of European busi- 
ness ; but as far as one can judge from the appearance of 
the streets, it has entirely ceased to attract religious 
interest, and is more a social than a sacred festival. 

The same goddess is worshipped under another name 
and character at the Kali Pooja, and Calcutta is said to 
derive its name from the Kali Ghat, where her most 
famous temple stands. I drove to see it, expecting some- 
thing at least barbarically grand, but the expectation 
was far from being realized. The temple cannot be ap- 
proached by carriages, so we had to dismount and walk 
to it through a narrow dirty passage between rows of 
huts. A young man, clad as is usual with the natives 
in their own quarters, that is, " with a 6 cotton ' cloth 
cast about his naked body," came forward and asked if 
we wished to see the temple, and, on my assenting, acted 
as our guide. He proved to be one of the Brahmins 
belonging to the temple, and spoke intelligible though 
broken English, calling me " Sir/' at every turn. He 
pointed out the place of sacrifice in the court, and assured 
me that 50 or 100 goats were often offered there in a day. 
There are merely two iron prongs fixed upright in the 
pavement, over which the victim's neck is stretched by 
one priest, while another strikes off the head, which is 



166 



INLAND. 



offered with the blood to Kali, the worshipper feasting 
on the flesh. Orthodox Hindoos never eat animal food 
unless the blood has been offered to this goddess, and it 
is to gratify her sanguinary preference for human victims 
that the Thugs pursue their ruthless butchery, now nearly 
stopped by the energetic action of the English govern- 
ment. It is distinctly stated in the Kalika Purana that a 
human victim pleases her for a thousand years. 

It was not time for the doors of the shrine or inner 
temple to be opened, so we waited among the worship- 
pers in an outer building, raised about six steps from the 
court, and open on all sides, the roof being supported by 
pillars. At one end a gap of a few feet wide divides it 
from the shrine, which only the priests are allowed to 
enter. It was not very pleasant waiting, owing to the 
proximity of so many dirty natives, and the deafening 
clatter of their tongues, as well as the peculiar smell of 
blood which pervaded the place, and I was not without 
some misgivings that we had acted rashly in coming 
without even a gentleman's escort into such a place. 
However, our friend the Brahmin kept the little crowd 
from pressing on us, and at last the lamps were lighted, 
and amid the sound of gongs and bells the temple doors 
were thrown open and revealed the goddess. The Black 
Mother, as she is called, is merely a hideous mask about 
two feet long, lighted from behind, coarsely painted black 
and red, and draped with crimson silk. The Brahmin 
told us that it was made of stone, and that the tongue 
and arms were gold ; but it would be difficult to imagine 
anything more grotesquely hideous. 

Another temple in Bow or Lall Bazaar contains a 
statue of her as large as life, as a hideous black woman 
with a long red tongue reaching to her waist, and a neck- 
lace of small skulls. 

At the Kali Pooja, crowds of natives go about the 



FESTIVALS AND FESTIVITIES, RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL. 107 

city for several days, carrying her image with shouts and 
music, and at night by torchlight with fearful uproar. 
The first time I saw this pageant I was alarmed with the 
idea that it had a political or national meaning, for she is 
represented as trampling on the body of a white man 
with most demoniac gestures of triumph, and it looked 
like an emblem of the victory of the native over the 
European race ; but I soon learnt that the statues were 
purely religious, and commemorate a remarkable event 
in the history of the goddess. She and her husband 
Seeva were at war with a giant, and Kali one day, mad- 
dened either with intoxication or with fury, encountered 
her husband, and mistaking him for their foe, knocked him 
down and danced upon his prostrate body. This is the edi- 
fying circumstance commemorated in this great religious 
festival, Seeva being always represented as a white man. 

The Cherruck Poojas, or swinging festivals, in honour 
of the same sanguinary goddess, are to a great extent 
suppressed by the English government, which has pro- 
hibited the barbarous custom which formed their chief 
attraction — the swinging aloft of devotees by hooks in- 
serted among the muscles of their shoulders. Thev are 
still, however, observed, to some extent, and like the 
other festivals, afford occasion for the natives to make 
night hideous with torchlight processions and unearthly 
yells and music, but their ancient splendour is anion a- the 
things that were. I cannot but notice here, with very 
earnest protest, the utter unfairness of the tone which it 
is now fashionable to assume in speaking of all these fes- 
tivals. Not only in secular newspapers, but in semi- 
religious periodicals, articles frequently appear describing 
the innocent enjoyments of Hindoo crowds in strong con- 
trast to the brutal revelry which too often disgraces our 
wakes and fairs, and more than hinting that the horrors 
of Juggernaut and Saugor were gross exaggerations of 



168 



INLAND. 



the early missionaries, either mere phantoms of their own 
fanatical and credulous minds, or purposely fabricated to 
draw money from their gullible supporters. Such insinua- 
tions are only too much in harmony with the so-called 
liberality of the age ; and we need to be reminded that 
the atrocities alluded to are matter of stern and unques- 
tionable history, some of them put down by the strong 
arm of English law after too long a period of timid tole- 
ration, and others gradually suppressed by the enlightened 
public feeling, due in a great measure to the maligned 
missionaries themselves. It is surely the climax of injus- 
tice for superficial writers to take these festivals in their 
present comparatively harmless state, and use them as a 
weapon against the character and work of those whose 
labours have stripped them of their worst horrors. Nor 
should it be forgotten that while bloodshed and torture 
are now prohibited by law, one of their darkest accom- 
paniments — unbounded licentiousness — is not a matter 
patent to the eyes of any casual observer. 

By far the most imposing, however, of the religious 
celebrations witnessed in Calcutta, is the great Maho- 
metan festival which takes place on the tenth day 
of the month Mohurrum, in memory of Hossein and 
Hassan, the two murdered grand-nephews of Mahomet. 
The whole month is sacred, and the earlier part of it 
is distinguished by various curious observances, but as 
the great day draws near, the followers of the Prophet 
go about the streets at night by thousands, carrying 
torches and huge braziers filled with fire, beating tom- 
toms and making the most frightful din and uproar. For 
nights together sleep is almost impossible, for even across 
our unusually large compound, the glare of the fires and 
torches lighted up the rooms as the wild procession 
passed, and the din w T as enough to waken the most de- 
termined sleeper. 



FESTIVALS AND FESTIVITIES, EELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL. 169 



Anxious to see as much as possible of these strange 
ceremonies, I started on one occasion at six in the 
morning*, and drove to a house where I could have a 
good view of the crowning procession. The sight was 
certainly worth an effort. I suppose there must have been, 
at least 60,000 or 70,000 Mahometans out in the line of 
march, mostly on foot, though some had handsome equi- 
pages. Green is their sacred colour, and almost every one 
of them had some scrap of it, in honour of the murdered 
Imaums. Some were clothed from head to foot in green 
muslin of the most vivid shades, and others, enveloped 
half in green and half in intensely brilliant scarlet, re- 
minded one of the plumage of the most gorgeous parrots. 
They poured along the wide road in dense succession for 
hours, carrying an extraordinary medley of objects — biers 
with the shape of a body covered with drapery laid on 
them under a canopy, Chinese-looking pagodas from 
three to twenty feet high, covered with tinsel and gaudy 
painting 1 , elephants and horses of the most fantastic 
shapes and colours, and flags of various nations. As 
they walked they beat their breasts, shouting, ''Hassan, 
Hossein," with hoarse, monotonous voices, reminding 
one vividly of the funeral procession with which the 
" Curse of Kehama" opens. Every now and then they 
halted to take breath, and then men would rush forward 
and execute a rough sort of cudgel play, or a fight with 
mock swords and shields, or a strange wild dance with 
long spears which they twirled and darted in the most 
marvellous way without injuring each other. Still the 
same monotonous chant, " Hassan, Hossein," and the 
beating of the tom-toms and cymbals, and the droning 
of the bagpipes went on • and when one considers that 
this lasted for eight or ten hours, under a sun that heated 
the atmosphere even of shaded rooms above 90°, and 
after the long fast and sleepless nights of excitement 



170 



IK LAND. 



described, it is no wonder that many are seized with fatal 
attacks of fever after every recurrence of this festival. 

No description, however, can give more than a faint 
idea of the reality : the picturesque crowds in green, 
scarlet, and white, many of them carrying umbrellas of 
bright orange colour, or equally briiliant^blue ; the strange 
gaudy objects borne aloft on their shoulders ; the naked, 
bare-headed beggars who sat by the roadside flinging 
their arms about wildly and asking alms ; the strange 
stalls and salesmen posted along the streets, and the 
ceaseless din, combining to make it a most extraordinary 
and bewildering spectacle, Perhaps the most wonderful 
thought connected with it is, that all this frenzied excite- 
ment and clamour is" raised about the deaths of two men 
who existed 1200 years ago, and of whom little memo- 
rable is recorded. It was also a humbling reflection that 
no such crowd could have gathered in England without 
drunkenness and vice, of which one sees nothing here ; 
and that if our country were the seat of two utterly dis- 
similar religions such as Hindooism and Mahometanism, 
no such excited procession could throng the streets of a 
great town without risk of serious bloodshed. Indeed, it 
seems more than questionable whether the Indian govern- 
ment is wise in allowing these enormous crowds of 
excited Mussulmans to parade the capital, especially at 
night, with no sufficient force at hand to repress the out- 
break which any trifling incident might cause among the 
maddened throng. 

The Mahometans are far more dangerous bigots 
than the Hindoos, and the strictness with which they 
observe the rites of their religion is a cutting reproach to 
the indifference of most so-called Christians. Not only 
do they never omit the stated hours of prayer, going 
through their appointed prostrations and repetitions five 
times daily, by the tanks or in their shops, indifferent to 



FESTIVALS AXD FESTIVITIES, RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL. 171 

the presence of observers; but during their month of 
fasting (Ramadan) no food of any description, not even 
a drop of water, passes their lips from sunrise to sunset. 
The Mussulman servants come to their work as usual, 
though one sees them scarcely able to get through 
it, and yet no relaxation of the rigid rale is ever 
thought of. 

Friday is the sacred day of the Mahometans, who 
then especially frequent the mosques and perform acts of 
united worship, though they do not consider ordinary 
work unlawful. Some of their buildings are of considerable 
size and pretensions, while Hindoo temples are generally 
very small, often admitting only two or three worshippers, 
and the latter have no regularly recurring clay of worship 
and apparently no idea of united prayer. Individuals go 
to the river or to the temple to make their offerings of 
flowers, etc., or perform their pooja before the idols which 
are found in most Hindoo houses ; and they meet in vast 
crowds, as we have seen, to celebrate the festivals of 
various gods, but these anniversaries rather resemble great 
pleasure fairs than gatherings of a religious character. 

Both religions have constantly recurring holidays, 
popular no doubt with their votaries, but highly incon- 
venient to European residents, as they are a serious 
hindrance to the progress of business. During the Doorga 
Pooja, which generally falls early in October, public 
offices, banks, and law courts, as well as many of the 
shops, are closed, and everything is at a standstill for ten 
days or a fortnight. Even at the best of times the pro- 
gress of building or any similar labour is irritatingly slow 
in India. The normal style of proceeding is for one man 
to work, and two to sit and look at him, and then they 
all three have a smoke or perhaps a nap, or an entomo- 
logical study of each other's heads, and then to work 
again in the same fashion. Moreover, as thev do not 



172 



INLAND. 



begin work till about ten, and leave off soon after four, 
their progress cannot naturally be very rapid ; and almost 
invariably when one is in a particular hurry, some native 
holiday intervenes and stops work altogether. 

If we turn from these wild assemblies and debasing 
celebrations to simple Christian anniversaries among the 
native converts, a greater contrast can scarcely be 
imagined. One such gathering which I attended at 
Bhowanipore, the suburban station of the London Mis- 
sionary Society, is perhaps worthy of a brief description 
here. The native chapel in which it took place was rude 
in the extreme. Twelve poles set in two lines clown the 
middle supported the low sloping roof of mats and thatch, 
and the building was filled with natives, only about 
twenty Europeans being present. The chairman was a 
venerable native clergyman with a flowing white beard, 
a convert of the Church Missionary Society; and the other 
speakers were all ministers and catechists of the London, 
Baptist, and Presbyterian Missions. Not a European 
took the smallest part in it, except as auditor. All the 
speeches except one, as well as the hymns and prayers, 
were in Bengali, and of course I understood very little ; 
but in fluency, appropriateness of gesture, and evident 
natural eloquence, these obscure speakers certainly 
acquitted themselves better than average Englishmen ; 
and the solitary one who spoke in English, out of com- 
pliment to the visitors, rose decidedly above the ordinary 
level of the clergymen whose native tongue he employed. 
His language was simple and clear, his manner fervent, 
his quotations of Scripture singularly apt and accurate ; 
and there was no fault of grammar or expression to stamp 
him as a foreigner. Some of the facts he stated might 
well make an English congregation blush for themselves 
by comparison. Every member of that little church 
contributes a tenth of his income to religious purposes ; 



FESTIVALS AND FESTIVITIES,, RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL. 173 

and besides this, every one had recently given a full 
month's wages or salary towards a fund for building a 
larger church, and they had also contributed liberally in 
proportion to their means, towards the relief of the 
famines -tricken people of Orissa. 

After the meeting was over, the Christian natives, 
many of whom had come up from villages many miles 
distant, adjourned to a long building where, according to 
annual custom, a supper was prepared for them by their 
brethren in the town. Most of the strangers being poor 
agriculturists, there was something very graceful and 
appropriate in this hospitality, and in the manner in which 
Brahmins and university graduates bestirred themselves 
to act as cooks and waiters. We watched the whole 
scene with great interest from a staircase, for as the place 
was very narrow, and lighted by oil lamps set on the 
ground, it was not safe for ladies to walk about below. 

The visitors, about 150 or 200 in number, squatted on 
the ground in long rows ; and the first indication of the 
approaching meal was the bringing in of a bundle of 
green plantain leaves, cut up to serve as plates — a large 
square piece being laid before each guest together with 
a cup of water. Then salt was distributed, about a 
table-spoonful being served out on each leaf; and then 
came the feast, consisting of chupatties and a large mess 
of savoury- smelling curry. It took some time to help all 
round, and the guests waited with grave decorum till a 
blessing was asked by the native pastor, and then set to 
with no lack of appetite. It was getting late, so we had 
to come away just at an interesting juncture ; but there 
was something in this little anniversary among them- 
selves, without European interference, and at which we 
English were mere accidental though honoured spectators, 
that spoke more convincingly than volumes of reports 
of the reality of Christian influence among the natives. 



174 



INLAND. 



On another occasion I was present at services at a 
Church Missionary station near Calcutta, where there 
were only five white people present, including the 
missionary's little girl; and the few words in the 
communion service addressed to each individual were 
the only English spoken. The congregation consisted 
entirely of Bengalis, with the addition of two Burmese 
youths, nice intelligent-looking fellows, who had left 
their own country and come alone to Calcutta to seek 
instruction in the Christian religion. 

Two remarkable native baptisms which I witnessed 
must not be omitt ed in the list of events interesting in a 
Christian point of view. The first was that of an infant 
descended from the highest and purest race of Koolin 
Brahmins • men so reverenced by their countrymen for 
their exalted descent, that a Koolin may marry as many 
wives as he pleases, the honour of his alliance being suffi- 
cient to counterbalance any personal objection. Many of 
them live in idleness and luxury by trading on this super- 
stitious reverence ; dividing their time between their 
numerous wives, whose fathers are well content to support 
them and their children, for the sake of the connection 
with such distinguished sons-in-law. The infant's grand- 
father was one of this honoured race ; but education, in 
his case, had paved the way for Christianity, and he was 
now a venerable and honoured minister of the Church 
of England, as well as a distinguished professor of the 
university. His daughters had all married Christians, 
either English or native, and this baby grandchild was 
descended on both sides from the purest Hindoo ancestry. 

The ceremony took place in the chapel of Bishop's 
College, filled that evening with natives and East Indians. 
Most of the college students were of the latter mixed race, 
many of them darker than the natives themselves ; and 
as they all wore their surplices, and the native ladies 



FESTIVALS AND FESTIVITIES, EELTGIOUS AND SOCIAL. 1 7-5 

were dressed in white, with the flowing veil, which is 
their most becoming costume, the scene, even outwardly, 
was very bright and interesting. There were only six 
Europeans among the congregation ; and as we gathered 
round the font, and the child, descended from the most 
ancient and proudest race of idolaters on earth, was laid 
in the arms of the officiating minister, to be sealed with 
the cross of Christ, it was surely a sight on which angels 
looked down with joy. The beautiful infant, which I held 
at the font with feelings of such peculiar interest that 
day, was soon taken to behold the face of his Father in 
heaven; and his gentle mother, one of the most valued 
of my friends in India, soon followed him to rest : so that 
a touching interest attaches to the memories of this, the 
first native baptism I ever witnessed. 

The other was of a very different, but equally 
interesting character — being that of the convert whose 
case is mentioned on page 141. The preliminary service 
was held at the same college chapel, but the rite itselt 
was, by his own desire, performed by immersion in the 
neighbouring river. When the previous prayers and 
exhortations were completed, therefore, the native Chris- 
tians, who composed the bulk of the congregation, formed 
in procession, and accompanied the catechumen to the 
river- side, singing a Sanscrit hymn of invocation to the 
Holy Spirit, which he had written for the occasion. 

The Hooghly, with its wide border of deep and 
slippery mud, is not a favourable stream for the primitive 
administration of the rite, and it was necessary for both 
the officiating clergyman and the candidate to be carried 
to a boat moored in the stream. From this the latter 
stepped into water breast high ; and whilst the minister 
repeated the solemn sacramental words, he placed his 
hands upon the convert's head, and bowed it three times 
under the water, in presence of the little crowd of wit- 



176 



INLAND. 



nesses on shore. The man's drenched white garments were 
then changed in the cabin of the boat, and we all returned 
together to the chapel for the conclusion of the service. 

Strange as it may seem , even this remarkable baptism, 
occurring in the immediate neighbourhood of Calcutta, was 
totally unnoticed by the press, and unknown to almost 
every one except those present. Indeed, this seems to be 
invariably the case ; and circumstances which would excite 
the deepest interest among Christians at home, pass alto- 
gether ignored and unnoticed by people on the spot. 

One event alone, while I w r as in Calcutta, excited equal 
interest among all classes, rousing natives and Europeans, 
high and low, townspeople and Mofussilites, to unwonted 
enthusiasm — the visit of the Duke of Edinburgh. Every 
incident of His Eoyal Highnesses tour has been amply 
recorded ; but it cannot be amiss to note here some of the 
brilliant scenes at the capital, which no spectator ever can 
forget. The Prince's landing had been anxiously anti- 
cipated for weeks before, and when he really arrived 
Calcutta poured forth its hundreds of thousands to greet 
the son of its imperial mistress with an unprecedented 
burst of loyalty and splendour. The route from the 
landing-place across the smooth, green expanse of the 
Maidan was kept by lines of native soldiery ; and dense 
masses of carriages and foot-passengers formed a serried 
wall on either side, waiting patiently for hours to catch 
the first glimpse of the Prince. The scene must have 
been a striking one, even after the many enthusiastic 
welcomes that the " Galatea 33 and her young captain had 
received ; but, unfortunately, it was late in the afternoon 
when she cast anchor among the lines of shipping on the 
Strand, and by the time the Prince had landed, and gone 
through a few introductions, the sun had set, and twilight 
was closing in. The crowd of ladies who occupied the 
reserved platform at the landing-stage had but a few 



FESTIVALS AND FESTIVITIES, RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL. 177 

minutes to enjoy the brilliant sight; and then the splen- 
did procession swept on its way, preceded by a body of 
cavalry, and followed by a detachment of artillery thun- 
dering over the turf towards Government House, which 
rose white and stately before it at the end of the green 
plain. The orange-tinted evening sky had never shed its 
last radiance on a brighter scene, for the very denseness 
of an Eastern crowd adds to its brilliancy, gay colours 
lighting up the prevailing whiteness till it looked like a 
field of many-coloured flowers. Every eye was strained 
in eager expectation, and when at last the Prince appeared 
on his slight Arab steed, riding beside the tall charger of 
the stalwart Viceroy, the long pent-up enthusiasm burst 
forth in the best attempt at cheering that native voices 
could produce. It was but a momentary glimpse, for the 
procession swept by at a rapid pace ; but tens of thou- 
sands went home repaid for hours of waiting, and eager 
to prepare for the illumination that was to testify their 
welcome to the Sailor Prince. 

No city in the world is perhaps equal to Calcutta in 
capacity for this species of decoration, and the effect was 
truly splendid. The white houses had their lofty pillars 
wreathed tier above tier with lines of light, and their battle- 
ments blazed with stars, and crowns, and other loyal em- 
blems, while the great dome of Government House shone 
with concentric lines of gleaming lamps. Triumphal arches, 
transparencies, and Chinese lanterns shone in all direc- 
tions, and if the decorations in the native quarters were 
often questionable in taste and execution, they certainly 
showed no lack of loyalty and good will. Every hut had 
its strings of tiny lamps, or its rows of wicks burning in 
little earthen saucers, and the whole city turned out to 
enjoy the sight. Along the broad Chowringhee Eoad, 
six or seven rows of vehicles closely packed together 
crept along, with frequent pauses before the more elaborate 

12 



178 



INLAND. 



illuminations ; and in the smaller streets the crowds both 
of carriages and foot-passengers were scarcely less dense, 
but all were orderly, amused, and gratified, and the 
whole spectacle passed off without a drawback. 

The Princess stay, from first to last, was one round of 
estivities, but I will only notice two out of the number — 
one being the grand Durbar, at which he was invested 
with the Order of the Star of India, an occasion rendered 
historical by the grandeur of its associations, and by the 
magnificent pageantry which combined mediaeval stateli- 
ness with oriental splendour. 

It was held in a large canvas enclosure on the Maidan, 
across one end of which was pitched the Viceroy's grand 
Durbar tent, capable of accommodating more than one 
thousand persons. Four other immense tents, two on each 
side, pitched at right angles with this, so as to form three 
sides of a fine quadrangle, extended about half the length 
of the enclosure, the remaining space being lined by 
the sailors and marines of the "Galatea" on one side, 
and English and native infantry on the other. Behind 
these lines of soldiers were pitched twelve small tents for 
the Grand Master and the Knights of the Order, the silk 
banner of each knight set up in front of his own tent, 
and the whole enclosure screened by a canvas wall, 
within which was no admission except by ticket. From 
the state entrance of the enclosure to the Durbar tent 
was a walk of considerable length, laid down with crim- 
son cloth, and shrubs and flowers were disposed along 
the turf, so as to heighten the general effect without 
intercepting the view of the favoured spectators. All 
the arrangements were perfect, the tickets admitting to 
the different tents corresponding in colour to flags which 
waved over the various entrances, so that we could see at 
once to which to drive, and had only to present our tickets 
and pass in. The back of the Durbar tent was occupied 



FESTIVALS AND FESTIVITIES, EELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL. 179 



by a great number of singers, amateur and professional, 
who were to take a prominent part in the proceedings ; 
and these, of course', entered from behind, as the spec- 
tators did from the sides, and took their places without 
notice. But as all the official and distinguished visitors 
came by the grand entrance, and walked up the enclo- 
sure, there was ample occupation for the thousands of 
eyes in the side tents, during the hour or two of waiting 
for the opening of the ceremony. 

The tents of the spectators were a study in them- 
selves, as we sat, sheltered from the glow of the 
afternoon sun under their awnings, bat with nothing 
to hinder the fullest view in front. Eow after row of 
elegant European toilettes, alternating with the pic- 
turesque and costly costumes of native chiefs and gentle- 
men filled up the entire space, except where the sunburnt 
sailors in their blue shirts and white trousers, and the 
stalwart marines kept the line before the tents of the 
knights on the right hand, and the swarthy turbaned 
infantry and their English comrades stood in like order on 
the left. Every few minutes brought some fresh arrival 
of distinction — judges in full robes, and high officials, civil 
and military, with their ladies, running the gauntlet of 
countless curious eyes, as they walked up the centre 
and took their appointed seats. Meanwhile, we had all 
been furnished with programmes so complete that when 
the Royal and Vice-regal party at last arrived, every 
individual in the train could be recognized without 
difficulty. 

The members of the Order, and others who had to 
take part in the procession retired at once to their tents 
to robe ; so that all attention centred first on Lady Mayo, 
as she moved up the crimson footpath under an umbrella 
covered with gold, accompanied by Lord Napier the 
Governor of Madras, and attended by a brilliant party, 



180 



INLAND. 



including the Chief Justice, the Lieutenant-Governor 
and other high dignitaries with their ladies, and the 
Begum of Bhopal and her suite. Then came the thunder 
of a royal salute, and the procession of the Order moved 
forward between the drooped colours to the sound of 
full military bands. First came spears and maces and 
other official attendants, two and two, and then the Com- 
panions of the Order, comprising gentlemen distinguished 
by services either civil or military, during the Mutiny or 
afterwards. Next came the Knights Commanders of the 
Order — Sir Richard Temple, Sir Henry Durand, Rajah 
Sir Dinkur Rao, Maharajah Sir Jeymaugal Singh, and 
the Maharajah of Yizianagam — and then a still more 
striking part of the procession, the Knights Grand 
Commanders and their attendants. This was most 
effectivelv arranged, each Knight Grand Commander 
being preceded by eight, ten, or twelve of his chief 
officers in gorgeous array, and a herald with his banner, 
while his train was borne by gay boy pages. 

First came the junior G.C.S.I., the Maharana of 
Dholepore, eight splendid native officers preceding him, 
and two swarthy pages bearing his train, the star of the 
order glittering on his breast, and a costume of inde- 
scribable brilliancy half covered by the ample mantle of 
blue satin. Next eight English officers and gentlemen, 
the attendants of Sir Seymour Fitzgerald, the Governor 
of Bombay, a herald bearing his banner, and two little 
English boys in conventional page's dress of white and 
lemon colour acting as his train-bearers ; then a similar 
group of brilliant uniforms preceded Sir W. Mansfield, the 
Commander-in-Chief ; and then, party after party, banner 
after banner, came the Maharajahs of Rewah, Kuppoorthul- 
lah, Jeypore, and Gwalior, their attendants clothed in hues 
defying all description — scarlet, purple, green, violet, blue, 
orange, and lemon- colour, and their turbans flashing and 



FESTIVALS AND FESTIVITIES, EELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL. 181 



glittering with gold and gems. Rewah, portly anl 
pompous ; Kuppoorthullah, handsome and splendid above 
all the rest ; Jeypore, small and insignificant in appear- 
ance, but one of the most enlightened of the Indian 
rulers ; and Scindiah, dark, fierce, and keen of aspect — all 
passed by in turn ; and then came twelve English officers, 
naval and military, among whose decorations, those of the 
Bath and the Victoria Cross were conspicuous, preceding 
the Duke of Edinburgh in plain dark uniform, followed 
by pages in white and blue. But the culminating point 
of the procession was yet to come ; and when the next 
twelve officers, some European and some native, had 
moved past, and the gorgeous banner of the Grand 
Master prepared the way for the Viceroy himself, his 
great height and massive proportions displayed to ad- 
vantage by his robes, and marking him out a very king 
of men, no one could help owning that in external dignity 
at least, the Majesty of England was worthily represented 
there. His train was borne by three tiny boys, one of 
them his own youngest son, and the bonny English 
children in their pages' suits, with rose-coloured plumes 
in their white caps, and rose-coloured mantles and 
rosettes, were a pretty foil to the Grand Master's 
fine proportions, and added no small beauty to the 
scene. * 

When the procession had passed up to the Durbar 
tent, the Xational Anthem was sung, but even the great 

* Little, indeed, could any one have foreseen in the midst of 
this splendid pageantry? that the career of the liberal and popular 
Viceroy, to whom it owed its magnificence, would be so soon cut 
short by the dagger of an obscure assassin; and that the fair 
boy who followed his noble father with so mnch childish gra^e 
and dignity that day, brightening every face into smiles and bles- 
sings, would ere long, draw tears from eyes unused to weep, as 
he walked in innocent half-unconsciousness of mourning, behind 
that father's bier. 



1S2 



INLAND. 



body of singers failed to make it distinctly heard over the 
vast space enclosed. The Chapter was then formally 
opened, and the Sovereign's warrant for the investiture 
having been produced, a procession of officers was 
despatched from the Vice-regal presence to fetch the 
insignia of the order from the jewel tent, while another 
national air was- sung. When they returned, bearing the 
various decorations on velvet cushions, the two senior 
knights, the Maharajahs of Gwalior and Jeypore, were 
directed by the Grand Master to invest the Prince with 
the ribbon, badge, star, and mantle, and then he knelt 
before the throne to receive the collar from the Grand 
Master himself. As Lord Mayo rose, and in the Queen's 
name placed it round his neck, a royal salute was again 
fired, and the banner of the new knight unfurled ; and 
after a flourish of trumpets his titles were proclaimed, 
" The most high, the most puissant, and the most illus- 
trious Prince Alfred Ernest Albert, Duke of Saxony, 
Prince of Saxe-Coburg Gotha, Duke of Edinburgh, Earl 
of Kent, Earl of Ulster, Knight of the most noble Order 
of the Garter, Knight of the most ancient and most noble 
Order of the Thistle, Knight Grand Cross of the most 
distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George, Extra 
Knight Grand Commander of the most exalted Order of 
the Star of India, and a member of Her Majesty's Privy 
Council," etc., etc. Another chorus was then per- 
formed, and after a few more formalities the Grand 
Master dissolved the Chapter. Then under the thunder of 
a third royal salute, and the strains of a stirring march, 
the procession left the tent in the same order as before, 
the Prince's banner being now carried before him, and 
his train borne by pages. 

As the procession comprised about 150 individuals, 
walking two and two at ample intervals, all gorgeously 
apparelled, and most of them personally distinguished, 



FESTIVALS AND FESTIVITIES, RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL. 183 



its length and splendour may be imagined; and whatever 
may be the value of such pageants in civilized countries 
it is unquestionable that few surer means could be de- 
vised to excite and strengthen the loyalty of our cere- 
monial-loving Eastern fellow- subjects. No one, indeed, 
could gaze without deep interest on such a scene, where 
governors and sovereign princes from the remotest parts 
of a vast empire had met to do honour to our Queen in 
the person of her son ; while the mere material magnifi- 
cence was such as to eclipse almost any other imaginable 
spectacle. 

Another scene which struck me as possessing special 
interest, was an " At Home ;; at the Episcopal Palace, 
where the Prince was brought face to face with as 
curiously miscellaneous and representative a host of 
British subjects as could anywhere be gathered. These 
" At Homes ;; were begun by the lamented Bishop Cotton, 
and carried on by his benevolent successor, with the truly 
liberal and Christian object of drawing together in 
friendly intercourse not only representatives of the 
various Christian communities in Calcutta, but distin- 
guished Hindoo and Mahometan residents, as well as 
strangers from distant parts ; and whatever may be their 
result in more important aspects, few arrangements could 
be more productive of easy and informal enjoyment. 
With no unnecessary expense or parade, the large suite 
of rooms and spacious verandah are tilled for two or three 
hours with a most brilliant and motley throng — English, 
Hindoo, Greek and Armenian Christians, Mussulman 
lawyers, Parsee merchants, Oude princes, and Burmese, 
Xepaulese, and Affghan strangers. The guests come 
and go as they like between the hours of nine and 
twelve, coffee, ices, etc., being provided in one of the 
rooms; and after the cordial greeting of the host and 
hostess, all are left to find enjoyment as they will, in 



184 



INLAND. 



music, or conversation, or amused observation of the 
brilliant scene. A band plays in the garden below, 
and the wide verandah becomes a crowded promenade, 
where friend meets friend, and missionary and chaplain 
snatch a few hours of relaxation, while doorways and 
rooms are filled with glittering groups of many nation- 
alities, and stately turbaned Rajahs and Greek priests sit 
by to watch the ceaseless stream of rank and beauty and 
resplendent dress. The rooms are lighted by large 
chandeliers, and their light flashes back in every direc- 
tion from gold and jewels. For one Englishman there 
are, perhaps, five natives in gorgeous apparel, dotted 
here and there with most amusing incongruities. A few 
are so far civilized as to wear white kid gloves, while 
many on the other hand, show their respect by coming 
shoeless, their feet covered only with striped stockings, 
and their legs encased in trousers of tight-fitting silk. 
Many of the head-dresses are of gold filagree work, 
encrusted with jewels and surmounted by feathery gold 
aigrettes ; and the upper garments of velvet, satin, and 
silk cloth of gold, are rendered still more gorgeous by 
long strings of pearls and emeralds wound round and 
round the neck and breast. Others wear Cashmeres of 
every hue, white, blue, and orange predominating ; and 
big stately Affghans, mountains of costly drapery, sur- 
mounted by large turbans, jostle small and supple 
Bengalis with simple black or white tight-fitting tunics, 
or Parsees with brown helmet caps and white muslin 
robes made exactly like an old-fashioned lady's dress, 
with crossed short-waisted fronts and full long skirts. 
Here is a Burmese clad in gay silk robes, with national 
features not to be mistaken ; there the keen face and 
plain dress of a well-known leader of the Brahmo Somaj ; 
here a handsome showy Mahometan advocate ; there the 
becoming white veil and simple costume of a Hindoo 



FESTIVALS AND FESTIVITIES, EELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL. 185 



Christian lady, side by side with an aide-de-camp's 
smart uniform, or an Englishwoman in full dress. There 
is a very Babel of tongues — English, Arabic, Hindi, Ben- 
gali, Burmese, and languages remoter still. Once I had 
been watching a brilliant group of native princes, in- 
cluding more than one useful ally in the awful crisis of 
the Mutiny, who were eagerly discussing some topic of 
engrossing interest, when a native professor who had 
joined in the argument, left the group and asked me to 
guess what they were talking of. It was the last subject 
that would have seemed likely to come up in such a 
scene — they were discussing the doctrine of original 
sin ! 

Another time I was leaving early, and just as the 
carriage was called up, a splendid equipage drove in. 
" Look/' said my companion, " I daresay you never saw 
a Jehu in a crown before; " and this was the literal fact. 
The carriage was filled with a group of native princes, 
and one of them in full state array, gold head-dress and 
all, was sitting on the box to drive ! 

On the occasion of the Prince's visit, however, every 
one was in good time, and long before the arrival of the 
Vice-regal party there was scarcely standing-room for the 
hundreds who were enabled by the Bishop's kind hos- 
pitality to have a nearer view of the long talked of Prince. 
His frank and sailor-like bearing made a most favourable 
impression; while, on the other hand, few more singularly 
varied assemblies could ever have presented themselves 
even to his travelled eyes. God grant that the enthu- 
siastic loyalty evoked by the sight of an English Prince 
may never have cause to falter, either at home or in the 
vast Eastern empire that then offered its eager homage 
to the son of Queen Victoria ! 



186 



IX 

A HOLIDAY EXCURSION IN THE PLAINS. 

The first excursion we made in Bengal was so peculiar in 
all its circumstances that it deserves a minute description. 
Trivial and often annoying as many of its incidents were, 
they furnished us with endless amusement even at the 
time, and have often awakened hearty laughter since ; 
and nearly everything was so foreign to hnglish ideas 
that I cannot but think my readers will appreciate a 
photographic minuteness of detail/ 

Worn out with work and responsibility, and exhausted 
by the oppressive monotony of the rainy season in 
Calcutta, I gladly accepted an invitation to join a party 
of zenana teachers who were spending their well-earned 
holiday at Monghyr. No one who has not tried it can 
imagine how wearying is the daily life of an earnest 
labourer in this department of the mission field; or how 
gladly the tired teachers avail themselves of the Doorga 
Pooja festival which stops all zenana visiting for the 
time, to get away if possible for a month/ s total rest and 
change. Not that their studies are abandoned, or their 
work forgotten. I can bear testimony to the zeal with 
which Bengali was studied, and to the hours spent in 
preparing fancy needlework for absent pupils ; but it was 
a genuine relief to cease the daily drive through rStifling 



A HOLIDAY EXCURSION IN THE PLAINS. 



187 



heat and noisome smells, and to spend day after day in 
free and equal intercourse with educated ladies. 

But there were many difficulties in the way. for a 
month's " out " in India is by no means the simple 
matter that it is in England. Here a few hours' journey 
in any direction brings one to some pleasant inland or 
seaside watering place, where lodgings are plentiful and 
accommodation cheap; but in India, lodgings are unknown, 
hotels and boarding-houses few and exorbitantly dear, 
and missionary purses far from well supplied — a mis- 
sionary or chaplain's pay being often inferior to that of an 
engine-driver or skilled mechanic. So after much dis- 
cussion, it had been decided by my friends to take an 
empty house for a month at Monghyr, about oOO miles 
from Calcutta. Great as this distance seems, there was 
no nearer town where we could hear of suitable accom- 
modation, and at Monghyr were kind friends to the 
mission cause, who volunteered at once to do all they 
could to make us comfortable by sending in old furniture, 
etc., for our use. Eleven of the party were already there, 
and I was to follow with two younger workers as soon 
as we could get free, taking with me a bearer and a table 
servant, and as much of bedding and smaller necessaries 
as we could conveniently convey. Rent and other 
expenses were to be equitably shared according to our 
respective means, and we were all forewarned that the 
ordinary conveniences of life would be at a premium, and 
that we must be prepared to make the best of scanty 
furniture and irregular provision, and lead, in short, a 
kind of picnic life in our temporary home. 

The winding up of our engagements was a time of no 
small excitement and fatigue ; and it was with somewhat 
mingled feelings that we turned our backs upon Calcutta 
and its cares, and found ourselves in the ferry steamer on 
the early morning of September 14th. This ferry from 



188 



INLAND. 



Calcutta to Howrah is still tlie first stage in every journey 
by the East Indian railway, though many schemes have 
been proposed for spanning the Hooghly with some 
sort of bridge, and thus avoiding a great source of 
inconvenience as well as loss of life. The scene was very 
striking to a stranger. After a night of storm approach- 
ing hurricane pitch, it was a fresh and lovely morning, 
and the broad yellow Hooghly looked its best, with its 
shore lined with noble merchantmen, and the motley 
shoal of native boats plying in all directions. There 
were two or three European passengers on board the 
steamer, but the great mass were natives of various classes, 
from the portly baboo with spotless muslin garments and 
calico shirt over all, to the mob of lower degree, whose 
only covering was a filthy rag round the loins, and a 
bundle of filthy rags on the head. The gabble, as usual 
in a Hindoo crowd, was terrific ; and the jostling when 
we had crossed at last and the steamer was moored to 
the jetty, was anything but pleasant ; but we secured a 
ladies' compartment in the train, and the journey was 
as comfortable as could be expected : for, opening out 
of our carriage was a tiny dressing-room supplied with 
water, which we found a great convenience and refresh- 
ment. 

Eor a few hours the travelling was really enjoyable, 
owing to the great storm of the night before. The soft 
breeze puffed in our faces almost too strongly, but its cool 
breath seemed to sweep away care and anxiety, and 
everything wore the brightness of an unwonted holiday. 
The smell of the country after the long rains was almost 
as sweet as in England, and the country itself not unlike 
the flattest parts of the midland counties. There were 
avenues of trees with verdant glades between, almost park- 
like in their smoothness, and the various kinds of palm 
did not predominate so decidedly in the landscape as we 



A HOLTDAY EXCURSION IN THE PLAINS. 



189 



got further from Calcutta. In some places, one might 
almost forget that balmy morning that we were under 
tropical skies. The verdure was richly English, and the 
roadside ponds covered with white water-lilies might have 
belonged to some home scene, though not so the swarms 
of| black urchins bathing there, up to their chins in mud. 
The lines and telegraph posts were intensely English, 
but any momentary illusion was at once put to flight 
by the sight of vultures instead of sparrows making 
them their perch, and most resplendent kingfishers 
sitting on every line of wire. During the whole journey, 
we hardly passed a telegraph post without seeing one at 
least of these beautiful birds on the intermediate wire ; 
and as the line is bordered by continuous ponds the whole 
way, they probably look upon the telegraphic system as 
a benevolent provision of nature, for their convenience in 
pouncing on their prey. They are as large as a pigeon, 
but more slender, with head and body of a bright red 
brown, and wings and tail of the most brilliant blue, with 
just a little black to enhance their loveliness. Sitting 
they are not remarkable for beauty, but flying, the sheeny 
glory of their resplendent wings and tail is wonderful. 
These, with the little, jet black, king crows and some 
smaller kingfishers were the only birds that seemed to 
prefer the wires as a resting place ; but below were flocks 
of starry winged minas, and snow-white heron-like paddy 
birds, standing like sentinels among the rice fields, with 
here and there a huge adjutant or other giant crane, 
or a large kite with white body and red-brown wings. 
Animals we saw none, except now and then a pariah dog, 
or a herd of dirt- coloured buffaloes rolling their unwieldy 
bodies in some muddy pool ; and once an elephant quietly 
eating his fodder in a station yard startled us with a 
sudden sense of incongruity. The only crop, with the 
exception of a little Indian corn and sugar-cane, was rice 



190 



INLAND. 



in various stages of growth, and a large proportion of the 
land was ankle-deep in water. 

At Burdwan we looked in vain for any glimpse of the 
church or mission- house so long associated with the 
honoured name of Weitbrecht ; and by this time the heat 
had become almost unbearable. We bathed our hands 
and faces perseveringly, but in vain ; and spreading our 
bedding on the seats, tried, but with small success, to 
sleep away the sultry hours. 

About three o'clock we reached Rajniahal, when the 
scenery rapidly changed, and wooded hills took the place 
of the former monotonous plain, to the great delight of 
my companions, neither of whom had ever seen a rising 
ground before. Still the heat continued without abate- 
ment, and as evening drew in there was none of the 
delightful breeze that springs up at sunset at Calcutta, 
and makes the nights endurable. The sun went down, 
and the stars came out, but the night was as stifling as 
ever, and our only consolation was in calling to the water- 
bearer, who at every station passed along the train with 
his mussock slung across his back. The mussock is 
the skin of an animal, probably a large goat, with only 
the legs and head taken off, and it holds several gallons of 
water. As the bearer goes along the platform he is 
summoned incessantly by loud cries of " Bihistee ! 
bihistee I" from all the passengers. This word, which 
means " a blessed one/'' or dweller in paradise, has become 
the common name of water-carriers, from the blessing 
which those are supposed to earn who carry water to the 
thirsty. 

As night drew on we had a little sleep, but it was 
uneasy and unrefreshing ; and when we reached Monghyr 
at half-past nine, after fourteen hours' journey, we were 
all well-nigh exhausted. There was no one to meet us 
as we had expected ; but we got as much of our luggage 



1 



A HOLIDAY EXCURSION IN THE PLAINS. 191 

as possible loaded in and on an exceedingly minute hack 
carriage, and getting coolies to carry the rest under my 
bearer's charge, we crushed ourselves into the carriage, 
and set out in search of our resting-place. Here an 
unexpected difficulty encountered us. Our native drivers 
in vain attempted to identify the name of Southgate 
House, by which alone it was known to us ; and no 
distinctness of pronunciation, or attempts at an equivalent 
in the vernacular, were of any avail. After prolonged 
delays, and various unsatisfactory colloquies, a gleam of 
light seemed to flash upon them, and they drove us a long 
distance across a broad, grassy plain, and under an avenue 
of trees, to the gates of a large house. We hoped that 
our difficulties were ended ; but when a servant appeared 
in answer to the driver's summons, we discovered, alas ! 
that it was an hotel. et Where was Southgate House ? )} 
He did not know. " Where was his master, or mistress ? " 
In bed. Fancy forlorn and tired out travellers in such a 
plight ! 

At last we bethought ourselves of asking for the 
house where a good many mem sahibs from Calcutta 
were staying, and this solved the difficulty. We were 
driven off in a new direction under the clear moonlight 
to another house, of which, however, even the outer gates 
were shut and secured for the night. After some diffi- 
culty, we obtained an entrance, and, after still further 
delay, a light ; and then our friends, in various degrees of 
deshabille, turned out one by one to welcome us. They 
had made up their minds that it would be quite impossible 
for us, under the circumstances, to get off by the day train, 
and so did not expect us till the morning. The best bed- 
room had been reserved for us ; but as it was utterlv 
empty, without even table, chair, or bedstead, the imme- 
diate prospect was not cheering. We had brought, one a 
camp bedstead, and the other a cork mattrass, as well as 



192 



INLAND. 



sheets and pillows ; so my servants were left to get the 
beds ready, while we had some tea, not procured without 
delay, as, of course, there was no fire. However, it was a 
very lively and refreshing meal ; but when we at last 
retired for the night, we were amused to find that the 
servants, true to their native instinct of caring only for 
their own mem sahib, had not only set up my camp bed- 
stead in the middle of the room, and rigged my mosquito 
curtains, but had spread all the bedding of the three upon 
it, including even the cork mattrass of one of my com- 
panions. When this property was restored, and my own 
blanket and sheets spread upon the sacking, it was dis- 
covered that the bedstead of the third had been left 
behind at Calcutta ; so she had to join one of the other 
ladies in sleeping on a table in the sitting-room. 

We were too tired to stay long awake, though the 
heat was still intense ; but just as I was dozing off, a 
sudden exclamation from my companion apprised me that 
she had seen a large musk rat running about the room, a' 
matter of some moment to her, as her mattrass lay unpro- 
tected on the floor. Musk rats are not pleasant neigh- 
bours, but in India one has to be philosophical: so she 
threw something at it, and w T ent to sleep. 

In the morning we found fresh need for patience and 
philosophy, as seven of us had to use one bath-room in 
succession, with frequent intervals of waiting for the 
bheesties. Our e( chota hazree" was therefore taken in 
desultory fashion, sitting on the floor or on boxes ; and 
as soon as we could escape from the hot room we were 
glad to take our Bibles out into the verandah for quiet 
and fresh air. All the scanty and heterogeneous furniture 
in the house, except what we and our friends had brought, 
had been sent in for our use by the kind people of the 
town; crockery, tables, chairs, a sofa, washing utensils, 
etc., having all been furnished by this truly Indian 



A HOLIDAY EXCURSION IX THE PLAINS. 



193 



hospitality on the part of people to whom we were utterly 
unknown except by a solitary letter of introduction. 

The house was prettily situated on the bank of the 
Ganges, and built partly on the south wall of the old 
fort, the verandah on that side looking straight down 
into what used to be the moat. Just opposite was the 
little barrack-like settlement of the native Christians, 
with their church in the compound, and in front of our 
abode a small garden opened on a common, shaded by 
fine trees. The house, like almost all in the place, was 
of only one story, surrounded by a wide verandah tiled 
and thatched, so as to afford a double security against 
heat and rain. It was raised about a dozen steps from 
the ground, and all the rooms opened into each other, 
screened only by such extemporized curtains as we could 
provide ; so, as we were a party of fourteen ladies, besides 
servants, it may well be imagined that very little quiet or 
privacy was attainable. 

As I was sitting in the verandah before breakfast, I 
was startled by a beautiful bulbul perching on my shoulder, 
and readily transferring itself to my finger and allowing 
itself to be caressed. It belonged to one of the party, 
and another had a young one, which she had brought 
here to train and educate. This bird, sometimes called 
the Indian nightingale, is very handsome, rather smaller 
than a thrush, with a long black tail tipped with crimson 
and white, and a pretty black crested head. The upper 
part of the body is black, faintly sprinkled with brown 
below, with a bright crimson patch under the tail. It is 
easily tamed, and can then be trusted to fly quite freely, 
and its pretty pert ways are very amusing. 

We had prayers and breakfast about ten, and then, 
for the first time, saw all the party. They are widely 
scattered now, some driven by failing health to their 
distant American or English homes, some married, and 

13 



194 



INLAND. 



some continuing their labours ; but if these pages should 
meet the eve of any of the circle,, they will call up many 
a bright memory of that interval of relaxation. Only 
hearty workers can thoroughly enjoy a holiday, and none 
can need one more than those whose sphere of labour 
lies in the trying atmosphere of Calcutta zenanas, so 
though we were all too weary to do much, we were just 
in the mood heartily to enjoy every trivial incident of our 
very novel situation. At breakfast the bulbul, having 
mutely pleaded with his mistress for some rice, settled 
the matter by flying on the dish as the man handed it 
round, and helping himself, regardless of the merriment 
provoked by his audacity ; and afterwards, when books and 
needlework were produced, he evinced the liveliest interest 
in all our pursuits, examining the patterns and playing with 
the wools. Eeading aloud began at twelve, and dinner 
was ordered for two, but the cook was bewildered by the 
number he had to provide for, and by the limited kitchen 
accommodation, and it did not appear till long after four. 

All day long, and every day after, a succession of box 
wallahs came to exhibit their wares — inlaid ebony boxes 
and desks, chains^ and bracelets, and straw mats and 
baskets ; and as we really wanted many things to send 
home, this idle time was an excellent opportunity, for 
bargaining with a native is not a matter soon disposed 
of. He never thinks of asking the fair value of his 
goods, but starts with a purely fancy price, calculated on 
the probable degree of his customer's inexperience, and 
ranging from four to ten times what he will eventually 
take. Raw Europeans offer some trifling abatement and 
buy at once, and one such success encourages the dealers 
to persevere in their exorbitant demands. Time is of 
little consequence to them, and they will hold out for 
hours in the hope of some trifling extra profit. The pro- 
cess is somewhat as follows. The box wallah produces 



A HOLIDAY EXCURSION IN THE PLAINS. 195 

some article, and you ask the price. He says, perhaps, 
" Eight rupees." You utter an exclamation of surprise 
and disgust, and tell him to be off. He asks, insinuat- 
ingly, what you will give, and you offer, perhaps, two* or 
three. This he emphatically rejects, but makes a large 
abatement from his original demand. Again you repeat 
your offer, and on a second refusal walk away, and sit 
down to read or work with an air of sublime indifference 
to the whole business ; while he opens a variety of other 
wares, and offers them to the company in general, inter- 
jecting various modifications of the original demand to 
you : till at last, when he sees that you are quite resolved, 
the article is laid down before you with the monosyllable, 
" Take," and you get it at your own price, probably 
finding afterwards that you have been cheated after all. 

One of the confraternity very much amused us by a 
naive admission, due to his ignorance of our tongue. He 
had asked an unusually exorbitant price for something, 
and one of the party jestingly inquired, "Turn ke pas 
kuch conscience nay hai? (Have you no conscience ?) 33 
in reply to which he gravely shook his head, and re- 
sponded, " Nahin, mem sahib, kuch nahin, (No, nia'am, 
not any) 33 an unconscious truth, not only for himself, 
but for the whole brotherhood throughout India. 

In the evening we started in detachments of three or 
four for a walk, our party choosing the road to the river 
side. The Ganges here is of a width which defies the 
eye, and some large islands lie just opposite the town. 
To the left stretches a distant chain of hills, and to the 
right a pretty undulating and wooded reach of country, 
the whole European town lying within the walls of the 
old fort, which must have been of considerable extent, 
for the houses are a long way apart, surrounded by trees 
and gardens, and an extensive common occupies the 
centre. The massive walls of the jail, which are said to 



196 



INLAND. 



be very ancient, border part of the green ; and farther on 
the banks of the river are faced with walls, of which the 
semi-circular turrets are accessible by steps from the land, 
and furnished with seats, where one can enjoy the air and 
the view. Farther still we descended a flight of steps, 
leading through a deep archway to the river, and found 
a Hindoo temple of considerable size facing the stream. 
Entrance was forbidden, but the attendant Brahmin said 
that in the morning it would be open, and we could see 
the inside from without, and sketch it if we pleased. An 
early expedition was accordingly planned, and we re- 
turned to a late tea, but found it terribly hot, as there 
were no punkahs in the house. After tea, therefore, we 
adjourned with books and work and a lamp to the 
verandah, and I read aloud till interrupted by a suf- 
ficiently unpleasant incident. Feeling some small crea- 
ture creeping up my arm, I put the other hand outside 
the sleeve, and took hold of the intruder, probably with 
no very gentle pressure. The immediate result was a 
most overpowering and disgusting odour, which drove 
away every one from my vicinity, and could only be 
subdued by instant washing and sprinkling with Eau de 
Cologne. These creatures, which resemble a small black 
ladybird, swarmed on the table every night when the 
lamps were lit, and woe to the hapless individual who 
wittingly or unwittingly offends them. Another kind of 
flying bug, a large flat creature, found both here and in 
Calcutta, can be smelt in the air for a considerable 
distance. 

We were all very tired, and went to bed early, but 
not to sleep. The heat was tremendous, untempered by 
the pleasant night breeze which makes Calcutta habitable, 
and the musk rats held perfect carnival in our room. To 
make matters worse, the night lamp went out, and the 
squeaking and scuffling increased to such an extent that 



A HOLIDAY EXCURSION IN THE PLAIXS. 



197 



we could bear it no longer, and had to wake our com- 
panions in the next room to get some matches, after 
which there was comparative quiet, but very little sleep. 
We got up at five o'clock, and walked to the Hindoo 
temple. It was a very animated scene, for the shallow 
edge of the river was crowded with bathers, men and 
women washing themselves and their clothes, and the 
latter were of the gaudiest description. Bright reds and 
yellows were the predominating colours, and under the 
morning sun, with the white temple in front, overhung 
by a magnificent old tree, the effect was very gay. The 
bank was too muddy to sit down, and there was not even 
a stone that could serve as a seat, so we had to make 
our sketch standing, and found it fatiguing and un- 
satisfactory. The natives crowded round us, and took a 
lively interest in the proceeding, but were perfectly well 
behaved : very much more so, I am sorry to believe, than 
a London crowd would be if they saw two Hindoo ladies 
in national costume sketching in front of St. Paul's. 

After drawing the outside we went up the steps and 
looked at the interior, not venturing however to cross 
the threshold. The hideousness of the gods was beyond 
description. Three immense and most frightful masks, 
with perfectly flat painted faces, just like the rude 
outlines street boys scrawl with chalk, were ranged on 
the wall opposite the entrance, on a background of 
crimson drapery, edged with tinsel. There was no 
attempt at representing bodies, but solid brass hands 
stood out from the drapery between the hideous faces, 
and on the right side was a group of images. Juggernaut 
held a chief place, and among the smaller deities were 
Lutchmee with six arms, Krishna with a black face, and 
Hanuman the monkey-god, with a long tail. The head 
Brahmin of the temple, a pleasant, intelligent looking 
man, answered all our questions with great politeness. 



198 



INLAND. 



He spoke no English, and it makes one feel terribly the 
want of a common language to be brought into contact 
with these pleasant natives, and only be able to ask them 
the baldest questions, with a very imperfect compre- 
hension of their replies. Bengali, the tongue which my 
companions had studied for their Calcutta work, was not 
understood, and we had to use the mongrel Hindostani, 
which is only employed to one's servants in Bengal, and 
which few people care to acquire correctly. 

In the priest's house on the other side of the archway 
was a sort of shrine set out with little gods and goddesses, 
and outside was a small idol car, the upper part of what 
was once one of the monster vehicles, under the wheels of 
which devotees used to be crushed to death. These 
things and their associations cast a terrible shadow over 
the brightness of that sunny morning, and made us long 
for the time to come when the knowledge of the true God 
should overspread this glorious land, and utterly abolish 
idols and their devilish rites. 

We got home to an early breakfast, and found in the 
verandah two ladies who were come to invite our whole 
party to a pic-nic on the following day, at a beautiful 
place a few miles from the town. Of course we accepted 
gladly, and after prayers and breakfast every one settled 
down to study, needlework, or letter writing. Some of 
the party were most diligent in pursuing their Bengali 
rending, but it was truly diligence under difficulties. It 
may readily be imagined that among so many ladies, 
most of them young, there was a good deal of both 
talking and laughing ; and the pet birds which were 
allowed to fly and hop about at their pleasure were sad 
wasters of time ; while the box wallahs furnished a per- 
petual distraction. 

So passed the day, and most of the party went early 
to bed, as we were to start at five the following morning. 



A HOLIDAY EXCUBSION IN THE PLUNS. 



199 



I sat up some time longer to write up my journal, sorely 
tormented by the fragrant insects above described, and 
by grasshoppers and crickets innumerable hopping over 
the table and into the lamp, and jerking themselves into 
my face. All tea time they kept drowning themselves in 
our cups, and now that this means of self-destruction was 
removed, they roasted themselves excruciatingly inside 
the chimney of the lamp, and the noise they made leaping 
against the walls and matting was like the ceaseless 
patter of a heavy shower of rain. 

At last I retired to bed, which I had had placed in 
the south verandah, in hope of a breath of air. But the 
hope was vain. A wooded knoll which rose just beyond 
the Christian settlement intercepted any faint breeze that 
might have been stirring, and heat, dense and suffocating, 
reigned everywhere. Sleep was effectually banished till 
about one o'clock, when a slight wind sprung up. Alas ! 
at half-past three came the unwelcome summons to rise — 
for situated as we were an hour and a half was very short 
allowance for the bathing and dressing of the whole party. 
It was truly " a haggard thing" to rise and dress that 
morning by the dim flicker of the night lamps ; and the 
climax of misery was reached when I went round parched 
with thirst, and could not even get a drop of drinking 
water. The wells at Monghyr are impregnated with 
mineral poisons, and the only water fit to drink is brought 
from hot springs four or five miles away, so that any negli- 
gence in keeping up the supply is fraught with serious 
inconvenience. I did take a mouthful of Monghvr water 
that morning, but the taste was so metallic that I dared 
not swallow it; and one of the party who iu cautiously 
ventured on a draught suffered severely from its effects. 

The carriages sent by our kind friends came for us a 
little before five, and we drove to one of their houses 
which had been named as the general rendezvous, starting 



200 



INLAND. 



from thence in a procession of eight barouches and 
phaetons. The day was just beginning to show in the 
eastern sky, and the stars were glorious, while the soft 
cool air out on the open road, was fresh enough to revive 
even our exhausted frames. 

We drove through a large native bazaar, very Eastern, 
dirty and picturesque, with people sleeping on their 
charpoys outside the doors all the way, and then through 
some very pretty country, hilly, wooded, and richly 
verdant. After a few miles the procession of carriages 
stopped and we began to ascend on foot. The road 
wound round the hill, giving splendid views of the 
Ganges and the near and distant hills. In one place some 
distant peaks were pointed out to us as a spur of the 
Xepaul Himalayas, and in the foreground was a singular 
ridge of dark rugged rocks, perfectly bare of vegetation. 
At last we came in front of the house, a really beautiful 
country seat, belonging to a wealthy native, by whose 
permission it was open during the absence of the family, 
to any neighbouring English gentleman who might apply 
for leave to take a party there. 

Our friends had made ample provision of every kind, 
and we all brought servants • so while chota hazree was 
preparing we went up to the roof to enjoy the magni- 
ficent and wide spread prospect. The house stands on 
the very brow of the hill, which is almost too steep on 
that side to climb, and the air sweeps freely to it from 
the river and the distant mountains. Down below, about 
half a mile away, nestles a large native village with its 
neat thatched roofs looking quite pretty among the 
clustering trees, and within the broad shadow of some 
fine peepuls, in the foreground, is a large and handsome 
tomb which we afterwards visited. The house itself was 
spacious and convenient, and surrounded by a fanciful 
arcaded verandah of distinctly Moorish character. 



A HOLIDAY EXCUESION IN THE PLAINS. 201 

It may readily be imagined how welcome was the 
summons to early breakfast, and never did a party more 
thoroughly enjoy that meal than did the thirty or forty 
individuals assembled at PeerPahar that day. Good tea, 
with delicious creamy milk, and fresh bread, butter, and 
cakes, refreshed us wonderfully ; and the absence of 
gentlemen, which at first struck us as singular in so large 
a party, not only proved no drawback to our enjoyment, but 
turned out eventually to be rather a fortunate circumstance. 

After chota hazree we sat a little, and then I took my 
butterfly net and strolled up to the summer-house with 
one or two companions, attended by Kaloo and their 
Madras servant, who both took a lively interest in our 
pursuit. Thence we clambered down the hill-side to a 
heath-like plain below, which, except for the heat, 
reminded us of many an English scene. But the sun was 
now getting dangerously high, and, though we were all 
provided with solah* hats, we thought it wiser to give 
over the net and specimen boxes to the two men, and 
take to umbrellas instead. So, after sitting awhile in the 
shade near the top of the hill, to enjoy the breeze, we 
sauntered back to the house, and amused ourselves in 
various ways till the second breakfast was announced. It 
was truly a goodly meal, a noble turkey, tongue, fowls, 
ducks, ham, and meat pies, jellies, cake, and fruit being 
only some of the items to which we did ample justice. 
The repast was spread on a long table, flanked by smaller 
ones, in the large dining-room ; and as our friends had 
brought table linen, cutlery, and silver, it was a comfort- 
able and cheery sight, contrasting with the makeshifts of 
our scantily furnished abode. 

* These hats, made of the thick pith of a kind of reed, glued 
together and covered with thin silk or alpaca, are a great protection 
against sunstroke, and very light and comfortable. They are used 
by all classes of Europeans, both military and civil. 



202 



INLAND. 



After a merry meal, we dispersed again into the 
verandah and the various rooms, in one of which a very 
noisy and unscientific game at billiards was soon organized 
by some of the juniors, while others exhausted all the 
conversational games they could think of, or proceeded 
with needlework or drawing. At last, to our great joy, 
the sky grew cloudy, and the wind blew cool ; and with 
one consent all, except the seniors of the party, put on 
their hats, and started by twos and threes for a long 
ramble. Our division descended the hill by a steep, 
winding road, and went to see the tomb mentioned above. 
It is to the memory of the native wife of an English 
officer, and an elaborate specimen of a peculiar style of 
architecture, as large as a good-sized room, and not in any 
respect like a Christian burying-place. An arched door- 
way admits of entrance, and within, on a slab let into the 
masonry, are simply the words, " Be still — she sleeps/' 
with only name and date below. 

While we were examining this, and gathering wild 
flowers near, a few heavy drops of rain began to fall, and 
we hastened to take shelter in the verandah of a native 
house close by. It was fortunate that shelter was at 
hand, for the rain, which had not visited this part for 
weeks before, soon began to come down in a heavy storm, 
the thunder rolling and echoing in the hills. It poured 
so tremendously that the wet soon found its way through 
the thatched and tiled roof of the verandah, and we were 
driven into the dwelling, where two passively civil natives 
accorded us a tacit hospitality till the clouds began to 
break. We took advantage of the first pause in the 
downpour, and then ran as if for our lives, for it was 
evident that there was more to come. Our friends above 
could see us from the verandah, and they waved to us 
anxiously to hurry on ; so we panted and toiled up the 
steep face of the hill, between ferns, and shrubs, and 



A HOLIDAY EXCURSION IN THE PLAINS. 



203 



crags, and reached the summit only just in time, scarcely 
able to stagger into shelter. It was well worth the exer- 
tion, for rain in India is no trifle, as some of our com- 
panions found. Five of them came in presently, literally 
drenched to the skin, every article of clothing absolutely 
dripping; and, of course, there was no change to be had. 
Fortunately, one of our friends had chosen to come on 
horseback, and had brought towels and a change of dress 
in the carriage, that she might have the refreshment of a 
bath after her ride ; so the victims were rubbed dry, and 
wrapped, one in the habit, others in door curtains taken 
down for the purpose, and in such articles of clothing as 
we could take off for them. A more ridiculous set of 
scarecrows can scarcely be imagined; but in time they 
were all pinned up in their motley garments, and the 
dripping clothes hung in the verandah to dry, as, of 
course, there were neither fires nor fire-places in the house. 
Then came dinner, which the unfortunates enjoyed as 
best they might in a side room ; and by this time the 
rain was over, and everything delightfully fresh and sweet. 
So some of us started, nothing daunted, to explore a oreat 
well near the house, which was excavated at great cost, 
and then proved useless. It was a round shaft, of immense 
depth and circumference, cut or blasted in the solid rock, 
and approached by a long flight of wide, shallow steps 
opening in the rocky hill- side, which towered like a giant 
wall on either hand. There was some depth of water 
when we saw it, but it was apparently only rain that had 
drained in, for there was no indication that any spring 
had been reached before the costly undertaking was 
abandoned. 

By the time we returned, it was necessary to think of 
getting to the carriages, and at this juncture new diffi- 
culties arose. None of the drenched clothes were dry, 
and of course we could not carry off the baboo's curtains ; 



204 



INLAND. 



so there was a fresh, demand for such contributions of 
inner and outer apparel as would fit our hapless com- 
panions to walk down the hill. Barefooted they neces- 
sarily were, for their boots were not in a state to be got 
on ; and when we had done our best for them, the sole 
attire of one consisted of a table-cloth and a black lace 
shawl ! 

However, we all got to the carriages without accident, 
and arrived at home in time for tea, fairly tired out. 
Great was the astonishment of the rest of the servants, 
who were assembled in the verandah to witness our 
return, when they saw the singular group which emerged 
from one of the carriages ; but in this climate there is 
little risk of cold, and no ill consequences resulted from 
the adventure. f 

Another evening we wandered out at sunset, and 
ascended the flight of steps leading to the Mahometan 
burying ground. A respectable-looking native, who 
seemed to be the guardian of the place, followed us, and 
objected to our entering the principal tomb, a chamber of 
some size, unless we put off our shoes, which we declined 
to do. He informed us that it was the tomb of a great 
saint, who lived many hundred years ago ; and we looked 
in and saw the stone under which the body rested, 
decked like a dressing table, with a white muslin cover 
over pink. The effect was very droll, especially as the 
custodian went on to tell us the most outrageous stories 
about the buried worthy, who seemed, by his account, to 
have been a sort of Mussulman St. Patrick. He said 
that the country was infested ages ago by great wild 
beasts, and this saint exterminated them, and buried 
them all under a large black stone, which he pointed out. 
He added that the rain which ran from the roof of the 
tomb was holy, curing all sorts of diseases, and generously 
offered to give us some, an offer which we politely declined. 



A HOLIDAY EXCURSION IN THE PLAINS. 



205 



Another time some of our party visited the same spot, 
and heard more wild legends on the subject. The origin 
of the fort is ascribed to this illustrious saint. The rajah 
had vainly tried to build one here, no erection ever 
prospering, when the holy man stepped forward, and 
promised to provide the desired fortress if the rajah 
would undertake to build him a tomb in return. The 
prince accepted the condition, and the present fort im- 
mediately rose of itself. As it is two or three miles 
in circumference, and has evidently been of immense 
strength, surrounded by earthworks, massively faced 
with brick and stone, and by a very deep and wide moat, 
his act of piety was signally rewarded. 

It is much to be regretted that the holy man's zeal 
for the extermination of wild beasts did not extend to 
the musk rats, which swarmed in our rooms every nio-lit. 
As neither inner nor outer doors could ever be shut 
because of the heat, there was no restraint upon their 
antics. One night, lights being scarce, and chairs at a 
premium, we were sitting on the ground in our bed-room, 
listening to a chapter read aloud by our next neighbours, 
when suddenly there was a shriek from inside the purdah, 
and a huge rat rushed out of their room almost over us, and 
made good his escape through the bath-room door. Cats 
also infested the place, but unfortunately they left the 
rats alone and devoted themselves to nocturnal raids 
upon our viands, for which we had no sort of safe ; so if 
anything had to be kept through the night the only way 
was to suspend it in a basket on the punkah pole. Once 
we were roused at midnight by a heavy fall, the sequel of 
some mysterious feline manoeuvres. "Down came " basket 
mutton, " and all," and when we called out to inquire 
what was the matter, the Madras boy's reply, u Cat run 
away with one meat," sent us, hot and sleepy though we 
were, into peals of weary laughter. 



206 



INLAND. 



After all there was no great cause for mirth, for this 
catastrophe had robbed us of the main part of our break- 
fast, and Tommy's English was far better than our Hindo- 
stani. The gravity which the servants preserve while 
the most outrageous mistakes are made in them native 
tongue is wonderful. One evening, four of us chose to 
have our tea on the roof, where it was cooler and quieter 
than below, and the lady who gave the necessary direc- 
tions to the servant, told him to bring pleuty of bread 
and butter, for we were all mad. She meant we were all 
hungry, but the change of a single vowel made it into 
the former extraordinary statement. The man turned 
away quickly, and must surely have laughed to himself, 
but these Easterns either have no sense of the ridiculous, 
or keep their risible muscles under enviable control. On 
another occasion a member of the party, whose knowledge 
of the language bore no proportion to her kindliness of 
heart, meaning to ask a man if his father and mother 
were dead (moorghya), inquired in a tone of commisera- 
tion whether they were moorghy — i.e., fowls ! 

Even this was not so bad as a similar mistake made 
by a missionary, who preached his first sermon in the 
vernacular on the words, " I am the light of the world." 
He indulged the fond belief that he had got through, 
pretty fluently, till he found, from the wondering remark 
of a native hearer, that by misplacing an accent on the 
word for " light," he had converted it through all the 
sermon into "potato," with results as bewildering and 
irreverent as can well be imagined. One great difficulty 
in Bengali arises from the fact that each consonant be- 
comes a new letter when followed by an aspirate ; one 
being sounded daw, another dhaw; one gaic, another 
ghaw, etc. Thus, Jchana is one word, Jcana another; and 
yet no one can distinguish the sounds without long 
practice, or unusual quickness of ear. 



A HOLIDAY EXCURSION IN THE PLAINS. 



207 



One day, besides the usual run of box wallahs we had 
some travelling merchants with beautiful Delhi jewelry, 
exquisite filagree work in gold and silver • and another 
time some bird-catchers with an assortment of doves, 
parrots and mocking-birds, and a number of tiny jewel-like 
creatures for which there is no English name. Among 
them was a chameleon, a wonderfully eccentric and ugly 
creature which was added to our list of pets, as well as a 
number of birds. A whole cageful of exquisite little 
creatures only cost a shilling ; and my kitmutghar made 
the most expensive purchase of the party, investing three 
or four times as much in a mocking-bird which he proposed 
to train, expecting to realize a high price for it in Calcutta. 

When we asked the man what the chameleon ate, he 
replied concisely " Cockroaches and mutton" as if they 
were two quite ordinary and analogous articles of diet ; 
and added the information that if it had nothing to eat 
for eight days, twelve days, it did not mind. Truly it 
did not seem to mind anything, for a more immoveably 
lethargic creature I never beheld. It was of a bright 
emerald green with a rough dry skin, covered with little 
tubercles, and a mouth so large and so peculiarly hinged 
that whenever it opened the head seemed to be coming 
in two. Its body had the appearance of being secured 
against such a possibility by being neatly sewed all down 
from throat to tail with coarse white stitches ; but the 
most singular part about it was its eyes. They were large 
green balls of the same rough skin as the rest of the body, 
except a small round spot in the centre, the size of a pin's 
head, which was bright and brown with eyelids of its own, 
and was of course the real organ of vision, though not an 
eighth part of the size of a mouse's eye. The whole green 
ball twists in every direction, so that the creature can see 
before, behind upwards, or downwards, without moving- 
its head, and the effect is very singular, as the two 



208 



INLAND. 



eyes are often turned in totally different directions. It 
was provokingly sluggish in all its movements, generally 
taking some seconds to stretch out a limb, and often 
pausing for half an hour with one extended claw. Its 
change of colour seemed limited to the coming and going 




Chameleon. 



of a dark grey cloud which flushed its delicate green 
skin whenever it was alarmed or angry. 

One incident of our stay, a visit to the little Christian 
settlement just opposite, was very interesting, notwith- 
standing our imperfect means of communication. In one 
house the family consisted of an old man, very venerable 
and nice looking, his mother, his wife, and three grown- 
up sons and their wives, besides some younger children. 
No one who has not seen both can imagine the contrast 
between these people and their heathen compatriots. 
Not only did the women look neat and pretty in their 
white petticoats and veils, but their very faces were 



A HOLIDAY EXCURSION IN THE PLAINS. 



209 



different, and their whole look and manner dignified and 
superior. There was an intelligence and modest self- 
possession about all the family that would not have ill 
become any circle of civilized society. 

As for ourselves, we were fast losing the habits of civili- 
zation, and it would have amused any of our friends at 
home to see the shifts we were put to in our camp-like life. 
The first thing in the morning was to decide who should 
bathe first ; and the time of waiting was sure to be diver- 
sified by lively conversation in mixed Hindostani and 
English between the temporary manager and the servants, 
varied by energetic exclamations from one or another about 
some startling incident — everything being audible from 
one room to another. Sometimes half the party would dress 
hastily and go out for an early walk, returning in time to 
bathe before the late breakfast, and emerging one by one 
into the verandah which was the quietest and airiest 
place for our early reading. There some of the teachers 
steadily prosecuted their Bengali studies, aided by the 
kind visits of a veteran missionary; and when the 
verandah grew too hot and the south doors had to be shut 
at noon, we even extemporized a punkah by hanging palm 
leaf mats along the pole— a piece of ingenuity which made 
the dining-room far more endurable for the rest of our stay. 

In our sitting-room every one's work, books, and 
writing materials had to lie perpetually on the table, 
because no such article of furniture existed in the bed- 
rooms, and there was no available space even on the 
floors. Add to this miscellaneous assortment, a butterfly 
net, and various entomological boxes and specimen cases, 
an extensive collection of pet birds in and out of cages, 
and an incredible scarcity of table and bed-room ap- 
pliances, extending to a total absence of such trifling 
vanities as looking-glasses, and one will have some faint 
idea of our not very luxurious menage. 

14 



210 



INLAND. 



It was quite a change to spend an evening in ordinary 
civilized fashion at the house of one of the chief inhabi- 
tants of the station, a most gentlemanly and liberal- 
minded man. His dwelling was the prettiest and most 
homelike I had seen in India : the walls of each sitting- 
room, instead of being merely washed, as usual, with some 
pale tint, being exquisitely painted with groups of flowers 
in panels, on a pretty neutral ground. It was all done 
by a German missionary, who thus obtained a handsome 
sum for his society while following the natural bent of 
his genius. There were also a number of fine water-colours 
and ckromo-lithographs, and the furniture of white and 
rose-coloured tabinet, was exactly like that of the old 
drawing-room at home. A splendid revolving stereo- 
scope, with a beautiful selection of European views, and 
some really good singing and music, helped to render 
it a truly English evening. Indeed, nothing could exceed 
the general kindness and hospitality which must always 
associate the name of Monghyr with pleasant memories. 

Another evening never to be forgotten, was spent 
literally in a tomb, which was the regular dwelling of 
the friends who asked us to tea. Some of the Maho- 
metan tombs in other parts of the country are really 
magnificent buildings, but this was originally one large 
square room with walls seven feet thick. It was changed 
into an octagon at a considerable height by solid arches 
springing out of the walls and cutting off the corners, 
and terminated in a dome. There were no windows of 
course, in the original erection, except very small openings 
beneath the dome ; but a doorway on each side let in 
sufficient light, and six rooms had been added — one front 
and back, and two on each side — so that altogether it was 
a good-sized and comfortable dwelling, the centre room 
being especially well secured against the heat of the sun. 
This was the dining-room ; and drinking tea in a tomb 



A HOLIDAY EXCURSION IN THE PLAINS. 



211 



with the ashes of a Mahometan saint probably reposing 
under the table, was certainly a circumstance novel 
enough to be remembered. 

But the crowning event of our visit was the Ram 
Mela, a great annual religious fair, in honour of Earn, 
one of the incarnations of Krishna, who is the favourite 
deity in this part. The mela commemorates the victory 
he won, assisted by an army of monkeys, over the giant 
king of Ceylon who had taken away his wife. It had 
already lasted a week before we went down to see it ; for 
it so often rained in the evening that we were hindered 
till the last and greatest day, when three or four of us 
started as soon as the sun was low enough. 

We passed out at the south gate of the fort, and 
turning into a fine avenue of peepul trees which border 
the high road for some distance soon began to meet 
indications of the fair. Men, women, and children were 
coming along in their gayest clothes, carrying fairings, 
just like a holiday crowd in England, except that there 
were no tipsy men, and that instead of sombre English 
clothing, every one was habited in the brightest colours — 
one wrapped from head to foot in yellow, another in 
scarlet, another in crimson or white, or in rich red silk 
flowered with yellow ; most of the women having their 
foreheads plastered with vermilion. 

At last we reached the open plain on the east side of 
the fort, and there opened upon us a scene which I 
despair of adequately describing. The extent of the 
ground was considerable, and it was literally a sea of 
human beings. Above them floated triangular flags of 
all colours, and here and there large painted and gilded 
erections were carried about on men's shoulders to receive 
the homage and offerings of the throng. They were 
mostly fan-shaped, with three niches, each filled by a 
hideous deity. Besides these, there were other mon- 



212 



INLAND. 



strosities of huge size filled, with fireworks ; large oxen, 
with their horns painted in alternate rings of bright red 
and green, and their bodies dyed with eyes like those on 
a peacock' s tail, drawing gay ekkas or country carriages 
with crimson hangings and fringes ; and here and there 
an elephant with a gaudy saddle-cloth, or a horse with 
scarlet and green trappings, and. bridle trimmed with 
coloured fringe. Everywhere the surging sea of white 
and red and yellow was crested with flaunting bannerets, 




Native Carriage. 

bounded by house-roofs crowded with gazers, or by the 
deep moat and massive wall of the fort, and canopied by 
the stormy glory of a threatening sunset sky. 

By skirting the moat we managed to make our way 
to the spot where a missionary was preaching in Hin- 
dostani to the crowd ; and one thing must not be for- 
gotten in passing. Though the majority of these people 



A HOLIDAY EXCURSION IN THE PLAINS. 



213 



had probably never seen an English lady before, and 
though there were not a dozen Europeans among the 
whole crowd, we threaded our way through without 
meeting the slightest incivility of any kind. The people 
looked at us, and sometimes bestirred themselves to get 
their huge animals out of our way, but there was none of the 
rude staring and jesting, and none of the unpleasant sights 
that one would encounter in a similar crowd at home. 

We stood for some time behind the preacher, who 
was posted on a stool near one of the flags, and sur- 
rounded by a densely packed circle of hearers, chiefly 
Hindoos, with a sprinkling of Mahometans. Perfect 
good-humour and attention prevailed, and I was struck 
with the acuteness of many of the faces turned towards 
the speaker — -keen, interested, and often amused, espe- 
cially when a bystander preferred some objection or 
argument, and the missionary parried it, or retorted 
upon him. In such cases he always seemed to carry the 
audience along with him, and they looked particularly 
amused when any of the objectors got an unusually hard 
rap. I never heard anything like the fluency of the 
missionary, who had been employed in this work for 
many years. Never pausing, except to hear an objector, 
and speaking with an energy that made him plainly 
heard above the roar of the crowd and the ceaseless din 
of the tom-toms, he poured forth a flood of argument and 
statement, interspersed with frequent quotations from 
their own poets, and passages from Christian hymns. 
Some of the listeners dropped off, and others took their 
places, but some stood the whole time we were there ; 
and it was deeply interesting to see men with caste 
marks on their foreheads, and necklaces of yellow flowers 
assumed in honour of a heathen festival, listening to the 
solemn truths of judgment and eternity, and the story of 
the Cross. Of course we could onlv gather the srenerai 



214 



TNLAND. 



purport of the address, but the whole scene was a striking 
refutation of the current arguments against such mission- 
ary efforts. 

At last it began to rain, and the clouds round the 
sinking sun assumed the most glorious colours, while a 
perfect rainbow arch spanned the heavens in front of us. 
It needed no very vivid fancy to accept it as the bow of 
hope for India just at this evening hour of the world* s day ; 
and memory still recalls it as the appropriate setting of 
one of the most remarkable scenes I ever witnessed. 

We went home through the fort as our shortest way, 
and just as we got inside the gate, heard the rush of 
fireworks, and saw the rockets shooting up. Unwilling 
to miss the sight, and sure of a- kind reception, we turned 
into the nearest compound, and made our way through 
it to the ramparts, where a lady and some children were 
sitting. The rain soon ceased, and she had seats brought 
for us ; so we sat and talked in the twilight till all the fire- 
works were done, and the great crowd dispersed. Then we 
made the best of ourway home to a late tea, and had another 
quiet hour or two on the roof, talking and singing hymns. 

The morrow was Sunday — a perfect day, bright, and 
not too hot, and peaceful and beautiful as heart could 
wish. Of course, " not too hot " does not imply that it was 
possible to walk to church in the forenoon; but under 
punkahs it was comfortable and cool. The service was 
asrain held in the circuit house, the church being: in 
ruins; and as we sat waiting, the view through the 
open doors over a pretty tank among the trees was 
very pleasant and refreshing. The service seemed 
especially soothing and beautiful, and the hymns and 
chants were nicely sung, a lady playing the harmonium. 

The evening walk to church was most delightful, a 
soft, cool breeze blowing across the undulating plain, and 
stirring the noble trees. When we got in sight of the cir- 



A HOLIDAY EXCUESION IN THE PLAINS. 215 



cuit house, we found ourselves too early ; so we sat down 
on a mound on the other side of the tank, and enjoyed 
the air and the view. Opposite, on a rising ground, 
stood the white pillared building, with its sloping roof 
hidden by great trees. On the right was the high, 
crumbling wall of the fort, scarcely distinguishable from 
the earthworks which it skirted, pretty ridges and hollows 
running down from it to the water ; and over all glowed a 
lovely sunset sky, purple, and gold, and crimson, and pink, 
and snow-white clouds piled against the blue. The air was 
as cool and balmy as even in dear old England, and the 
service and singing were again very sweet, as was also 
the walk home, and another moonlight ramble on the 
green. Altogether, I had not spent so happy and home- 
like a Sunday in India before ; and it was with real 
regret that we looked forward to the dispersion of our 
party after only two more pleasant days together. 

Before leaving, we went another early walk all round 
the fort, skirting the river which bounds one side, and 
completing the circuit outside the walls and moat. One 
part was very pretty, the moat being there quite a broad 
stream, bathing the foot of a steep wooded hill. In it 
were some washermen performing their business after the 
usual fashion. Clothes are never rubbed here, but soaped, 
and then taken up with both hands, and beaten with the 
full swing of the arm, against stones or ridged boards 
fixed for the purpose in the water. It seems a wonder 
that they survive this treatment ; but the truth is, that, 
ow r ing probably to the absence of washing powders and 
other destructive compounds, and perhaps also to the 
fact that clothes in India are not boiled, they really last 
longer than in England. 

Only one of my companions was to return with me 
by the night train, the others being able to prolong their 
stay a little ; but even our packing was no light matter, 



216 



INLAND. 



what with luggage, bedding, and extra packing-cases 
filled with our purchases. It poured with rain when we 
started, and there was great difficulty in stowing our- 
selves and our goods in the exceedingly small hack 
vehicle that came for us. We were told that the train 
did not start till 3.45, but, most fortunately, we deter- 




Dhobi, or Washerman. 



mined to be in good time, and accordingly reached 
the station a little before 3. Our dismay was great when 
the ticket baboo at once informed us that the train then 
getting up its steam was ours, and that it would start in 
a few minutes. My servants, who were walking, had not 
arrived, neither had the coolies with the heavy luggage, 
and when, after an interval of anxious waiting they did 



A HOLIDAY EXCURSION IN THE PLAINS. 



217 



appear, it was by no means easy to "settle everything 
satisfactorily. It is one of the delightful peculiarities of 
Indian railways to have no regular porters ; consequently, 
one is beset by a host of naked men and boys, who con- 
sider every article of luggage a lawful means of extorting 
pice, and they drive one almost to distraction, especially 
when in wild hurry and in pouring rain, as we were. 
However, I knew something of the language now, and the 
case was not so desperate as on a former occasion. Then, 
seeing a cooly making off with one of my packages in a 
wrong direction, I had pursued him along the platform, 
calling out " Chup, chup \ )} the only word that occurred to 
me in the emergency ; and as this imperative monosyllable 
signifies "Hold your tongue \" my conduct must have 
struck the bystanders as eccentric, to say the least of it. 

The beginning of the journey was very pleasant. We 
passed a pretty range of hills, stretching for miles beside 
the railway, high enough for the clouds to hang below 
their summits, with here and there some curious burnt- 
looking rocks ; but as twilight drew in, the hills fell off 
into the distance, and we felt sadly that we must resign 
ourselves again to the changeless fiats of Bengal. Soon 
after dark it be^an to thunder and lighten, and the storm 
raged furiously till early morning, when, as we reached 
Burdwan, it began to clear. 

Unfortunately, the washing arrangements in our 
carriage were out of order, so that we could not even 
bathe our weary eyes, and seldom have more forlorn- 
looking travellers emerged from a railway carriage. 
At Howrah we had a^ain to contend with the besetting: 
coolies, and then came the ferry, and another battle on 
the Calcutta side. At last, however, we got safely into a 
gharvy, with all our possessions; and in due time reached 
home, which we certainly entered with a new appreciation 
of its spaciousness, order, and comparative coolness. 



218 



i 

MADRAS TO THE SHEVAROYS. 

My first visit to the Indian hills was made, as is usually 
the case, under the pressure of ill health. Unwonted 
anxiety and labour had been forced upon me during the 
hot season, and as soon as the temporary refreshment of 
the first weeks of rain was over, it became obvious that I 
could not support the intolerable oppression of the 
steaming atmosphere that succeeded. 

Fortunately, I had friends living in the beautiful 
district of the Shevaroys, west of Madras ; and friends 
also in the southern capital itself, with whom I could rest 
a little before proceeding inland : and my kind physician 
hoped much from the voyage, as well as from the hill 
climate. His expectations were, however, far from being 
realized in the first particular, and I reached Madras in a 
state of miserable prostration. Let no one think that 
they know the full misery of sea-sickness till they have 
experienced it under a temperature of 90°, when every 
effort calls forth streams of perspiration, and the liver is 
in no condition to recover its proper tone. The four 
days spent in the city were a time of utter wretchedness. 
Weak, depressed and labouring under perpetual nausea, 
that prevented the taking of necessary food, I was in no 



MADEAS TO THE SHEVAROYS. 



219 



condition to enjoy the park-like grounds that surrounded 
the house where I was staying, or even the pleasant 
evening drives. 

Madras possesses many advantages over Calcutta in the 
latter respect. Instead of a single uninteresting country 
drive, it has many pretty roads, well kept, and shaded by 
fine trees, among which the Poinciana regia or Flam- 
boyant, long out of flower in Calcutta, was in full splen- 
dour, glorious beyond description. It has been already 
described above, but no language can do justice to its 
beautiful, dark, feathery foliage, or to the wealth of vivid 
scarlet blossom that makes it like a pile of glowing fire. 
Besides this, and only thrown into comparative insignifi- 
cance by its marvellous splendour, there are many other 
handsome flowering trees, and altogether, a far greater 
variety of foliage than prevails round Calcutta, where 
palms much more decidedly predominate. 

Then again, instead of the fashionable drive in 
Calcutta along the Strand, by the flat banks of the 
Hooghly, the people of Madras have the beach for their 
evening resort, where the fresh sea-breeze seems to 
bring health and revival on its wings, and the roar of the 
thundering surf rolls a deep accompaniment to the music 
of the band. It was already dusk one evening, when 
we drove down; and as the long waves came sweeping 
in, capped with snowy foam, they strewed the beach 
with phosphorescent creatures that shone like glow- 
worms in the darkness. W e left the carriage and stood 
for some time at the water's edge, drawing back as the 
waves broke, to escape the swirling waters, and enjoying 
the roar, and the breeze, and the fresh smell of the 
dashing spray. A finger drawn along the wet sand was 
followed by a track of sparks, and we could even pick up 
the tiny lights, and see them shining among the sandy 
particles between our fingers. 



220 



UPLAND. 



For a little while I could almost have fancied myself 
upon an English shore, but the relief was very tempo- 
rary. The nights were terrible, even after my bed was 
carried up to the roof for the sake of air. It would have 
been scarcely prudent, perhaps, to sleep quite unsheltered 
from the sky, but there was a room upon the housetop 
with a thatched verandah round it, under which my 
couch was spread, so as to be sheltered from the night 
dews, and yet accessible to every breath of air. It might 
have been very pleasant, had I been in a state to enjoy 
anything; but sick, weary, and sleepless, not even the 
calm beauty of the tropical night could bring me any 
comfort. The roof was really a splendid promenade, 
very long, and unbroken by any obstacle from end to 
end; surrounded by a balustrade of sufficient height for 
safety, but with a free view over the extensive and 
richly wooded grounds : and here I wandered many a 
restless hour, or sat and watched "the new moon with 
the old moon in her arms." The calm break of dawn 
always found me waking, and sent me down, more 
miserable than ever, to begin another day of nausea and 
wretchedness. 

Altogether, the time then spent in Madras stands 
marked in gloomy colours among* my Indian remini- 
scences. I should not have stayed so long but that my 
friends were themselves going to the Shevaroys for 
change, and it seemed safer as well as pleasanter to wait 
and make the journey under their escort. 

The heavy luggage was all sent off the day before 
we started, under charge of a servant, who was specially 
enjoined to have breakfast ready for us at the termination 
of our railway journey ; and we drove to the station after 
a busy and unsettled morning, and took our places in an 
empty railway carriage some time before the departure of 
the afternoon train. We had a good many packages to 



MADRAS TO THE SHEVAROYS. 



221 



arrange, as is usual in Indian travelling, where it is quite 
customary to take pillows and even mattrasses for a 
journey of any length ; and I was much struck with one 
scene that occurred in the interval. A lady was deter- 
mined, contrary to all rules, to take in the carriage with 
her a box too high to go under the seat, and the station- 
master had to be called in to insist on its removal. He 
was a handsome and refined looking native, in an elegant 
costume with a turban of white and gold, and his 
behaviour was certainly admirable. The lady grew very 
hot, physically and morally, — -she would not part with her 
box. He kept as cool and suave as possible — she must 
excuse him—he must do his duty ; the baggage must all 
be weighed, and the objectionable box must go in the 
luggage van. She declared that it should not leave the 
carriage, supporting her determination with arguments 
palpably false and ridiculous — " it contained things she 
required for the night." — " Then she might take them 
out f but this she flatly refused to clo. " He might as 
well want to take her hand-bag and her jacket and 
weigh them," to which angry fling he did not condescend 
to reply. The man kept his temper beyond all praise, 
never varied for a moment in the perfect courtesy of his 
voice and manner, did just what he had a right to do, 
and had everything brought back except the prohibited 
box. I could not help painfully contrasting this turbaned 
Hindoo with the caste mark upon his delicate forehead, with 
the flushed and choleric dame, on whose brow had been 
traced the sign of a far different consecration. 

At last we were off, through a country nearly as flat as 
Bengal, but not so monotonous. There were high 
hedges along the line, not unlike free-growing hawthorn 
hedges in England, and pretty houses scattered here and 
there among the trees. Instead of the invariable flat 
roofs near Calcutta, they are sloped, and roofed with 



222 



UPLAND. 



several thicknesses of rounded tiles, which make a thick 
cool, grooved roof that carries off the water very satis- 
factorily. Evening and night closed in without much 
abatement of the heat; and as our journey lasted till 
nearly six o'clock the next morning, the hours of darkness 
passed wearily enough. Our road lay past Arcot and 
Vellore and other places of historic interest, but of course 
we saw nothing of them; and night travelling is very 
dreary for those who cannot sleep at will. When we 
reached the Shevaroy Hills station, expecting to find break- 
fast ready, not only was there no refreshment-room, but the 
servant, who had been sent on chiefly for the purpose of 
providing, declared that he had been unable even to 
procure hot water. There was no help for it, no house, 
either native or European being near ; for the situation 
just at the foot of the hills is so unhealthy that even the 
officials do not live there — the station-master coming by 
the first train in the morning and leaving at night. On 
the return journey, a European who happened to be 
waiting at this station, enlarged to me feelingly on the 
horrors of the fever peculiar to this district, " If it 
catches holt on you, you just lie down and wish you was 
dead." 

My friends took a glass of wine each, but I dared 
not venture on it ; there was nothing left from our over 
night's provision, so fully had we reckoned on breakfast 
being prepared : and the only eatable thing at hand 
was a pine-apple from the stock for hill consumption. 
Imagine breakfasting on a slice of half-ripened pine-apple 
and nothing else, after a night's travelling, and with five 
hours of hill journey before us ! 

The bearers were waiting according to arrangement, 
and at six we started. Our vehicles were simply old 
cane-backed arm-chairs, each with two stout bamboos 
lashed to its sides to serve as carrying poles, and each 



MADRAS TO THE SHEVAliOYS. 



223 



had eight bearers who relieved each, other at intervals ; 
the lighter part of the luggage, which we took up with 
us, employing ten or twelve additional men. 

The view as we left the station was very lovely, little 
as we were able to enjoy it. The road lay at first 
through a wide ravine, on each side of which rose hills 
clothed with trees to the very summit. It was very 
much like part of the scenery at Bettws y Coed, only on 
a grander scale ; and the trees, instead of being all young 
larches, were well grown forest trees of various kinds, 
wreathed and dripping with creepers. Here and there 
the furrowed grey rock cropped out on the hill tops, or 
sheets of water streaming over distant slopes gleamed 
like looking-glasses set in the mountain side. Patches of 
cultivated ground lay beside the path, sprinkled with 
trees and thickly strewed with boulders. Any one who 
knows the finest Welsh passes can fancy the scenery by 
simply magnifying what he recollects, but the procession 
should have been seen to be properly realized. I led the 
van, carried by four bearers, four others near, ready to 
relieve them, and a troop of coolies with bags and boxes 
on their heads ; then my friend and her tribe of attendants, 
and then the ayah, also in an arm-chair, shivering though 
she had wrapped herself in blankets ; whilst Mr. S. 
brought up the rear, occasionally taking her place when 
tired of walking. Altogether we formed a considerable 
procession, and the coolies, loaded as they were, kept up 
a fair rate of speed. They are athletic, though not large 
men, naked except a narrow strip of calico round the 
loins, and a larger piece twisted round their heads, one 
end of which they shift from shoulder to shoulder to ease 
the pressure of the bamboos. 

At every descent they quicken their pace to a trot ; 
and if they kept step, the motion would not be unplea- 
sant ; but as they have no idea of this, and my chair 



224 



UPLAND. 



was dislocated in all its joints, the effect of their rapid 
movement was almost as bad as riding a hard trotting 
horse. All the while they kept up a monotonous, guttural 
chant, sometimes repeating the same syllables in unison 
for a quarter of an hour together, C( Angoke ! angoke ! 
angoke ! angoke ! " and so on; sometimes one of them 
pronouncing words, and the others responding with a 
deep grunt, " Ugh ! ugh ! ugh ! " The effect is very 
odd, especially when every now and then they vary it with 
a sudden hearty " Ha ! ha ! " at the full power of their 
voices. How they could find breath to keep this up as 
they did for nearly five hours, much of which was very 
steep climbing, it is difficult to imagine ; but so it was, 
and they brought us to our journey's end with a noisier 
chant and a harder trot than ever. 

After a while we left the ravine, and the ascent of the 
ghaut began in earnest. This word " ghaut/' which 
English people apply exclusively to the mountain chains 
in Southern India, signifies literally a flight of steps, and 
is applied indiscriminately to stairs leading down to a 
tank or river, and to mountain passes. The road began 
to wind round the side of the hills, and narrowed till it 
was only wide enough for two, and sometimes afforded 
scarcely a footing for both ; rough, too, at every step, with 
fragments of rock protruding from the soil, or washed 
down by the rains ; but the coolies, though barefooted, 
never faltered or made a false step. The ascent was 
indescribably and most variously beautiful. Sometimes 
we looked sheer down the almost perpendicular hill-side, 
hundreds of feet, among trees, rocks, and boulders ; 
sometimes could see nothing but the dense foliage above 
and around us ; sometimes the path wound round the 
mountain for a mile or so without interruption • and some- 
times turned in sharp, almost perpendicular zigzags every 
few yards. In one part we traversed a forest of bamboos, 



MADRAS TO THE SHEVAROYS. 



225 



their slender stems rising in graceful curve to the height 
of forty or fifty feet, and the small willow-like leaves that 
clothe their slender sprays shining with drops of rain. 
They are not only one of the most useful, but also one of the 
most graceful forms of vegetation; and for miles the slopes 
of the hills are covered with them, springing, like osiers, 
in large clumps from a single root. As we got higher 
they disappeared, and forest trees took their place, 
mingled with flowering shrubs and creepers. The ferns, 
too, were very lovely, and so was the flat branching moss 
so common in English green-houses, which grows here 
in great profusion. Higher up, a small but delicately 
white passion-flower literally covered everything with its 
spirit-like flowers and masses of vivid and tender foliage. 
We learned afterwards that this plant, introduced into the 
district by a lady who admired its beauty, is one of the 
worst pests of these hills. It is not only most trouble- 
some and mischievous in the coffee plantations, where its 
rapid growth overpowers and chokes the young plants ; 
but its heavy masses of decaying fruit and foliage, during 
the rainy season, render the atmosphere unhealthy, and 
are said to be the cause of a fever which sometimes 
prevails in the district. 

After two hours and a half or three hours' travelling, 
the scene rather changed, as we came to cultivated parts. 
The road widened again, and we began to see cleared 
patches on the slopes below, where young coffee trees 
were growing among charred stumps. Those we first 
saw were small, spreading shrubs with glossy leaves, 
the green berries clustering round the extremities of the 
branches like sprays of holly; and the resemblance is 
heightened later in the season, when the berries turn a 
brilliant red. In one part we could look down from the 
bearers' shoulders straight to the bottom of a ravine, 
'where a shallow stream eddied and glanced among the 

15 



226 



UPLAND. 



boulders, shaded by tree ferns, with tall trunks and fronds 
seven or eight feet loner. 

Farther on, as we were winding round the rocky 
summit of a hill, we came suddenly upon a view of 
startling beauty. Before us, the hills fell away in long 
files on either side, and the plain lay outspread in front, 
with the illimitable stretch of some broad ocean prospect 
seen from the summit of a commanding cliff. But there 
was no time for admiration. The road was good, and 
the bearers trotted and shouted faster than ever, till it 
felt as if everything inside and outside one must give 
way. I called to them to go slower; but as they under- 
stood neither Hindostani nor English, and the Madras 
servant, who might have interpreted, was far behind, this 
was of little avail ; and I must have fainted, but for the 
fresh, pleasant wind, which kept me up till we reached 
my friend's hospitable door. There, the kind welcome, and 
an immediate cup of tea, rather revived me; but distressing 
nausea and headache soon returned, and prevented any 
attempt to swallow solid food. The thirteen miles' jolt, 
breakfastless, after a night's travelling, was too much for 
any one in a low state of health ; and the rest of the 
morning passed in a kind of stupor, with little conscious- 
ness, except of utter misery. 

At last, my friend, who had long been regarded quite 
as a medical authority in the district, insisted on taking 
my case into her hands. I had little faith in the homoeo- 
pathic dose of ipecacuanha which she administered ; but 
the effect was miraculous. Before night, I was freer 
from nausea than I had been for many days ; and I woke 
the next morning, weak, but comparatively well. 

The next few days passed in a kind of semi-torpor, 
the intervals between meals being filled up with almost 
incessant sleep ; and then by degrees, with reviving 
strength, came back the capacity for active enjoyment so 



MADKAS TO THE SHEVAROYS. 



227 



long suspended. Even without stirring from the house, 
there was a continual feast outspread, for eyes long wearied 
with the monotonous flats of Bengal. 

It was a roomy, one-storied erection of simple 
cottage-like design, but planned by one whose whole- 
hearted devotion to higher subjects had not made him 
insensible to home comfort, or to the beauty with which 
God has clothed our earthly dwelling place. An earnest 
missionary among the tribes both of the hills and plains, 
he had built this home for his family towards the close of 
his career, and lived there in happy and successful labour 
till Grod called him to his rest. Part of his work was 
now being carried on by his son-in-law ; and his widow, 
whom I was visiting, still kept up the warmest interest in 
her late husband's people. 

The house stood on a terraced plot of ground, partly 
natural, partly artificial, very near the summit of one of 
the hills of the Shevaroy chain. Behind it was just space 
enough for a little poultry yard and orchard, while be- 
fore was a narrow terraced garden terminating in a little 
sloping lawn, parted by a sunk fence from the coffee 
grounds in front. These sloped steeply downward, and on 
either side a rocky spur of the range of hills shut in the 
view, leaving the plains in front outspread like a map, mile 
after mile away. From the verandah of our lofty cottage 
nest we could distinguish five or six ranges of lower hills, 
some of them of very bold irregular outline, stretching 
one beyond the other across the plain ; the far off Xeil- 
gherries walling in the horizon, blue as their name 
implies. Many a time the white fleecy clouds lay far 
below us spread along the slopes, or drifted across the 
little garden and filled the house with their peculiar 
vapoury presence. 

So much for our distant prospects, while the near 
ones were equally pleasant in their way. Kound three 



228 



UPLAND. 



sides of the house ran a narrow slip of flower border, 
where roses and jessamine peeped in at the low casement 
windows, and violets, mignonette, clarkia, and other 
English flowers, were in full bloom and perfume. Just 
opposite my bed-room was a tree of wonderful beauty, as 
large as an orchard apple tree and covered with bunches 
of flowers about twice the size of ordinary greenhouse 
geraniums, which they much resembled. Over this 
hovered incessantly the most gorgeous butterflies, with 
wings of velvet black and yellow, or black and blue, five 
or six inches across from tip to tip; and near it 
stood a tree of equal size, loaded with huge orange 
globes, a kind of pumelo or shaddock. Guavas and 
loquats, a mulberry, and a number of large pear trees filled 
a little orchard at the back ; and on the lawn in front, 
oranges more delicious than one ever sees in England 
were ripening fast on handsome trees. Low hedges 
of plumbago and French honeysuckle, covered with 
blossom, parted the little garden from the drive, and 
here and there stood a large datura shrub, perhaps the 
most striking object of all. Down in the plains, or on 
rich ground, this shrub grows rank and coarse, with a 
profusion of common looking foliage and comparatively 
few blossoms ; but up on this poor rocky soil its leaves 
are rather scanty, and it is profusely hung with huge 
white trumpet-shaped blossoms seven or eight inches 
long. In this state it has a ghostly, spirit- like beauty, 
especially in the twilight, such as no other shrub can equal. 

It was a delightful home-like change after the restraint 
imposed by the deadly heat of Calcutta, to stroll out after 
breakfast and dinner into the little poultry yard, and feed 
the chickens and ducklings, while the beautiful petted 
pigeons crowded and hustled each other in the grain 
basket, and fed eagerly from our outstretched hands. 
Even the English pigs were honoured with an occasional 



MADRAS TO THE SHEVAROYS. 



229 



visit ; as indeed they might well be, for surely never did 
members of the porcine race make a more distinguished 
entry on a new sphere of existence. On their arrival by 
train from Madras, whither they had been conveyed by a 
friendly ship's captain, they had to be carried up the 
ghaut in large boxes, and appeared at their new residence 
in state, attended by twelve bearers ! 

Then as I grew stronger there were splendid walks in 
all directions, and excursions after ferns and wild flowers 
almost as free and fearless as if we had been in our own 
dear land. It was some time before I could push my 
way among ferns and boulders without dread of snake or 
scorpion, or take a long hill ramble without some tremor, 
especially at dusk; but though tigers are sometimes 
killed on this range of hills, and cheetahs or leopards are 
not uncommon, while pythons are occasionally seen in 
some secluded parts, wriggling their hideous length 
along the rocks, we never met with anything dangerous 
to life or limb. 

There were a few scattered houses within a mile or 
two, and a tiny church where twenty or thirty people 
composed an average congregation ; also a pleasant 
parsonage, usually inhabited by some clergyman up from 
the plains on a month's sick leave, who ministers here 
and at one or two other little services in the neigh- 
bourhood, while regaining strength for more arduous 
work below. It was now occupied by the friends who 
came up with me, and who were thus near enough to join 
in our more extensive rambles. 



230 



II 

MOUNTAIN RAMBLES. 

My first expedition was taken after early breakfast one 
lovely morning, on the back of a sedate old pony, which 
carried me safely at a slow walk to a little kill farm, a 
couple of miles away. The road was very good, though 
undulating, and the views, both near and distant, ex- 
quisitely lovely. Large fruit trees, chiefly orange, pear, 
andloquats, overhung the road, and in some parts it was 
bordered by hedges of roses and passion-flower growing 
in the wildest luxuriance. The former were not our 
single dog rose, but double crimson, or pink China roses. 
Bright major convolvuluses twined among the bushes or 
lay in matted carpets on the ground; and zinnias of the 
most brilliant colours covered large patches of the hill 
side with sheets of dazzling bloom. African marigolds 
grew like common weeds ; and lo.vely golden and silver- 
backed ferns, such as we only see in greenhouses at home, 
clustered along the banks or nestled round the great 
grey boulders. 

Here and there we passed one-storied houses clothed 
with creepers, standing on little terraces cut out of the 
hill side, and all the lower slopes were covered with the 
shining green of the coffee plantations. The sun was 
bright and the morning air pure and exhilarating, as 
fresh and sweet as the well remembered breezes that 



MOUNTAIN EAMBLES. 



231 



sweep round the Malvern Hills. We met troops of hill 
coolies wrapped in dark blankets, and herds of slate- 
coloured buffaloes; and at last reached the farm-house 
where we did our business, and watched the mistress 
making up the morning's butter. Owing to the scarcity 
of grass up here, cows give but little milk, and butter 
costs about three shillings a pound — an exorbitant price, 
especially when compared with that of most other articles 
of food. After resting awhile and enjoying some delicious 
coffee and bread and butter, all the produce of the farm, 
we started home, my companions taking their turns with 
the pony, while I walked. Besides the flowers named 
above, the pale lavender-coloured agaranthum grows 
plentifully wild, and the pretty buff thunbergia, with its 
dark eye, climbs the fences or trails along the ground. I 
saw one splendid crimson passion-flower, besides numbers 
of others which pass my skill to name. 

Mid-day was passed in rest indoors, and in the early 
evening some of us walked to a bold rock near, from 
which there was a splendid view. After a little scramb- 
ling about, searching for small, single-flowered orchids, 
with pure white, long- spurred blossoms, which grow here 
and there in damp nooks on the mossy rock, we sat 
down; and I rested my head in my friend's lap, and 
listened to her touching stories of missionary life, while 
the sun set behind the hills, and the soft mists stole over 
their distant outlines, and the watchfires of the shepherds 
began to twinkle in the plains below. They are necessary 
on the low grounds to keep the cheetahs from the folds, 
but the hills, at least in this part, are wonderfully free 
from noxious creatures. Except a tiny scorpion, which I 
captured one day on my bed-room wall, I saw scarcely any- 
thing, during the whole visit, to awaken a moment's fear. 

The next morning we planned, and partly carried 
out, a fernery in a shady corner of the orchard. Two 



232 



UPLAND. 



coolies fetched the stones, and set them up under our 
direction, the only drawback to our enjoyment being the 
fear lest they should imagine that we wanted them for 
idols, and that I was teaching my friends a new kind of 
worship. Here, where any rude block of t stone set up 
under a tree, with a daub of red paint upon it, becomes 
at once a swami or god, there was some ground for un- 
easiness on this score, and we could only hope that the 
explanation given would prevent the suspicion of idolatry 
from attaching to our new pursuit. Eleven beautiful 
kinds of fern were found close round the garden, some of 
them the silver and golden-backed varieties so much 
admired at home. 

Other mornings were spent entirely in the open air, 
lying in wait beneath the shade of flowering shrubs, for 
the most gorgeous and tantalizing butterflies that ever 
tormented an entomologist, possessed of more enthusiasm 
than adroitness. A magnificent blue one, five or six inches 
wide, once kept me on the watch a whole morning, and 
escaped me at last. It came at intervals, sauntering, so 
to speak, up the valley, visible far away ; then hovered a 
few moments over a tree close to me, always out of 
reach ; and then mounting upward like a bird, it retraced 
its way through the clear sunlight down the sloping 
coffee ground. Tantalizing, however, as was the re- 
peated disappointment, my watch was anything but dull. 
Smaller, but exquisitely beautiful butterflies were flutter- 
ing round the shrubs, and numbers of humming-bird 
moths darted with their peculiar, jerky, swirling flight 
over the marigolds and zinnias on the rocks. Instead of 
the sober colouring of the English species, their bodies 
are of a vivid green, banded with other colours, and their 
wings partly transparent. Tiny birds came almost within 
ami's length, creeping along the boughs, and sucking 
honey from the flowers with long, curved, slender bills. 



MOUNTAIN RAMBLES. 



233 



Some were green and yellow, others a deep, flashing, 
glossy blue, and when they fluttered round the blossoms, 
it was impossible, at the first glance, to distinguish them 
from butterflies. Then there were bulbuls, rather smaller, 
darker, and slighter than an English thrush ; a sharp, 
moveable, jet-black crest upon their heads giving them a 
particularly knowing lock. Flocks of minas were con- 
tinually flashing by, the large white spots on their plumage 
showing with dazzling distinctness ; and once a great 
white eagle-like bird, with a brown head and wings, 
came sailing up and alighted on the rock behind me, 
where he stalked about within a stone's throw. These 
birds and the great Brahminee kites, which are also not 
uncommon here, do much mischief among the poultry. 
The little green long-tailed parroquets, of which I saw 
many during these pleasant morning hours, are very 
destructive to fruit, and show themselves especially 
partial to my friend's English apple trees. Other 
bright green birds, much the size and shape of a 
thrush, were plentiful, nor were quadrupeds and reptiles 
wanting. 

Tiny Indian squirrels with their grey coats marked 
with three distinct, black, longitudinal stripes came 
chasing each other within a few feet of my post, scurry- 
ing* over the low stone wall with tails erect, and darting: 
up and down the trees with amusing celerity ; and the 
lizards were by no means behind them in restlessness. 
One common sort is grey, mottled with black, and rather 
pretty ; another very coarse and evil looking, with a thick 
head and leathery black skin, enlivened by a bright 
yellow stripe along each side. When full grown, both 
sorts are eight or ten inches long, but I once found one 
in my bed, apparently just hatched, not much more than 
an inch in total length. Grasshoppers and their allied 
tribes are very numerous, and some of them very hand- 



231 



UPLAND. 



some, with black heads, crimson bodies, and black wings 
spotted with opaque yellow. Our clerical friend, who 
was also seized with an entomological mania, captured a 
specimen one day, which in size and general shape, was 
not unlike a half-grown frog. Unfortunately, its delicate 
emerald green hue changed after death to a dull brown, 
and thus, like many of these wonderful foreign insects, 
its chief beauty vanished. 

One evening, we climbed the hill above the parsonage, 
not a long ascent, but rather an arduous one ; as there 
was no path, and we had to press upwards through ferns, 
prickly wild dates, and boulders large and small. The 
view from the top, however, amply repaid us. From 
that summit as a centre, we looked east, west, north, and 
south, across ravines, and valleys, and ridge after ridg-e 
of hills, some green, some bare and grey, and others 
mantled with the soft evening haze or clothed with the 
sunset glow. Far in the distance shone a broad reach 
of the river Cauvery, and a steep ridge of abrupt and 
rugged ironstone rocks formed a striking feature in the 
foreground. 

Another pleasant ramble, fern-hunting, took us down- 
ward to a little native burying ground. It was a lovely 
walk, partly through high jungle of flowering plants, 
partly along a pretty shaded road, till we turned aside to 
a secluded spot that must have been beautiful indeed 
before it was chosen as a place of graves. Owing to the 
great difficulty of hollowing deep pits in the rocky soil, 
bodies had time after time been so slightly buried, that 
jackals had dragged them forth, and held hideous 
carnival ; so that the place was strewed with bleached 
bones, skulls with the teeth perfect, and vertebras, 
and thigh and shoulder bones, in terrible preservation. 
There had been no recent burials when we visited the 
spot, but a gentleman, to whom we mentioned it, told us 



MOUNTAIN RAMBLES. 



235 



that lie had once been assailed in passing, by a fearful 
odour, and had seen the body of a native lying on the 
surface half devoured. 

One side of this little natural enclosure descends 
abruptly to a shallow stream, overhung with forest 
trees. Here, on mossy stones and banks, the love- 
liest greenhouse ferns flourish in delicate beauty and 
profusion. I never saw anything so exquisite as some 
of the rocks thus clothed ; and tree ferns were also 
abundant and beautiful ; but, perhaps, the pleasantest 
novelty, after the perpetual caution inculcated at 
Calcutta, was the being able to dig and rout 
about among this tropical foliage with scarcely more 
fear of anything noxious than would be felt in Eng- 
land. 

The most important of our expeditions was a day 
spent in the woods, where we had a picnic breakfast, 
dining at the house of a native Christian, the owner and 
cultivator of a small coffee plantation near. As the spot 
fixed for the picnic was some few miles away, we had to 
engage bearers for one or two chairs ; and take turns in 
walking, being carried, and riding the ponies. It was a 
charming morning, and a new and lovely walk, past 
a fine lake and a sacred wood, and then scrambling 
over huge rocks and down almost perpendicular paths 
among jungle and fern. Then the road wound round 
the edge of steep declivities, opposite to which hills 
clothed with foliage rose in silent grandeur, and past 
a Malayali village, the houses of which bore a striking 
resemblance to large beehives. A circle from ten to 
twenty feet in diameter is formed of stakes about a yard 
high, wattled with split bamboos ; and others, rising 
to a steep cone in the centre, are fastened to them 
to support the roof. This is made of thick thatch, 
and the wigwam-like dwelling is completed by a door- 



236 



UPLAND. 



way, just high, enough for the inhabitants to creep 
under. There are no windows to these primitive habita- 
tions^ and fires for cookings of course, have to be 
kindled out of doors. 

After passing this curious little settlement, the road 
lay chiefly through cultivated land, till we arrived at the 
wood, where breakfast was preparing beside a little brook. 
The table-cloth was spread upon the ground, and the 
usual picnic fare laid out upon it, together with some 
first-rate coffee and plantains, sent down by Manicum, our 
native friend. When the party were all assembled, we 
had prayers and sang a hymn under the forest shade, 
and then proceeded to do full justice to the excellent meal 
provided. It was terminated in less orderly fashion by 
the appearance of some gorgeous butterflies flitting along 
the brook. Two of us were provided with nets, and four 
others were hastily improvised, armed with which the 
more active members of the party started up in chase ; 
but as the ground was very difficult, including a brook to 
be crossed by very unsteady stepping-stones ; with a steep 
ascent on either side, and coffee plantation or jungle 
everywhere, the butterflies had decidedly the best of it. 
They came sailing up one after another, hovering for a 
moment here and there round the flowering creepers that 
overhung the brook — truly regal creatures, attired in 
velvet black and blue, or black and yellow, and measuring 
fully five inches across the wings — every one dashed at 
them in turn, and then — they soared away. The chase 
was really exciting for a time, bat this invariable termina- 
tion at last rather damped our ardour ; and we gave it 
up, and started in a body for the waterfall which was the 
ostensible object of our excursion. 

It was a grand walk, reminding me very much of some 
of the loveliest Welsh scenery, though on a much finer 
scale. The waterfall was really a magnificent descent, 



MOUNTAIN RAMBLES. 



237 



though with only the merest thread of water, dissipated 
into spray long before it reached the bottom. We sat on 
a broad rock at the summit, and looked sheer down a 
perpendicular height of above three hundred feet. Huge 
blocks of stone seemed piled upon each other from base 
to crest ; and when we rolled fragments over the 
brink, they sprang in frantic leaps from point to point, 
dashing themselves to pieces long before they reached 
the depths of the ravine. On its opposite side, the hill 
rose almost as abruptly, but clothed with jungle to 
the very crown; and behind us was a rocky back- 
ground, higher still, with the little stream trickling 
quietly over mossy shelves, and resting in cool, shallow 
basins before its tremendous plunge. In the rainy season, 
when there is a good body of water, it is really a fine 
cascade. 

After a long rest, we returned to the spot where we 
had breakfasted ; and then found our way up to Manicum's 
little abode, passing a whole troop of long-tailed monkeys, 
racing- along the ground and up and down the trees. 
They were as large as a retriever, and are very mis- 
chievous, coming down in great gangs to steal coffee and 
fruit. Some of the coffee trees here were eight or ten feet- 
high, and loaded with berries. The blossom is white and 
very delicate, and the sprays of ripe berries form a hand- 
some Christmas decoration. 

When we reached Manicum's thatched dwelling, we 
found the rest of the party awaiting us in the verandah, 
and were introduced to our host and his wife Eayal. He 
could speak English pretty well, she very little ; but thev 
both gave us a hearty welcome and a very good dinner, ar 
which she could not be persuaded to join us, though he 
sat down and ate with his guests. Native women are so 
accustomed to a life of inferiority and seclusion, that 
even Christianity does not at once restore them to their 



238 



UPLAND. 



true position : and they often shrink painfully from inter- 
course with strangers. 

After dinner, Manicum, who is really an excellent and 
simple-minded Christian man, called in some of his poorer 
neighbours ; and the missionary who was with us held a 
little Tamil service for them, in which it was deeply inte- 
resting to join, though the language was an unknown 
tongue to most of our party. Soon after this we parted 
from our kind host ; haying arranged, much to his satis- 
faction, for the establishment of a Christian school upon 
these hills ; and reached home about dusk, after a fatiguing 
but most pleasant excursion. 

Another day three men came up from one of the out- 
lying villages formerly under the charge of my friend's 
husband, to ask her to recommend a wife for one of them, 
for which purpose they had walked sixty miles ! The 
meeting between them and the widow of their late pastor 
was a very interesting and joyful one — their gratification 
at being recognized after some years of absence finding 
excited and voluble expression. One was a remarkably 
intelligent-looking middle-aged man, a convert baptized 
by her husband, and the others had been brought up in 
one of his schools. Since his death, this school, both for 
boys and girls, had been discontinued, so the young man 
could not find a wife with any education among his own 
people. He was but a poor cultivator, with a few fields 
of his own, and, like all the rest, was clothed in country 
cloth, bare-legged and bare-footed ; but he wanted not 
only a Christian wife, but one who could read ; and had 
made this long journey in search of one. 

Mrs. L ordered them coffee, and after resting 

awhile they came in at her invitation, seated themselves 
on the floor, and began to give her all the news of their 
district. Squatting on the ground, it may be remarked, 
en passant, is the attitude most natural to all these East- 



f 



MOUNTAIN RAMBLES. 239 

ern people, in whom it argues some considerable degree 
of European civilization to be able to sit comfortably 
upon a chair. Of course the conversation was carried on 
in Tamil, but whenever it grew particularly animated I 
got an interpretation sotto voce from another member of 
the family sittiug beside me at work. Once they were 
entreating her to come down and stay among them, now 
that there was no settled teacher, and she told them 
jestingly that if she came now they would have to keep 
and feed her. It was touching to hear their eager 
response to this, and to see the keen face of the elder 
man light up with the earnestness of his assurance how 
very gladly they would do it. Then he went on to speak 
of her husband, and of all he owed to his teaching, and 
grew so excited that little Minnie, the missionary's grand- 
child, who was playing in a corner of the room, called 
out, u Paisade ! Paisade ! " (Silence! Silence!) It was 
interesting to see the warmth of their enthusiasm about 
their late pastor • but the chief object of their visit was 
unfortunately unattainable. There was but one Christian 
girl of suitable age about the place, and when she was 
sent for, ostensibly to give her some directions, but really 
that she might be looked at, the would-be bridegroom, 
though himself a singularly plain and gawky fellow, 
decided that she was not young or good-looking enough, 
and they took their leave disappointed. 

The idea of taking a journey in search of a wife is by 
no means an unusual one in India, Any young Christian 
artificer or schoolmaster, if there is no suitable girl in his 
own neighbourhood, gets a letter of recommendation 
from his pastor to the managers of some female orphan- 
age, and is allowed to select a wife from among the 
elder pupils. Two or three are sent into the room in 
succession, till he sees one who he thinks will suit him, 
and then the marriage is speedily arranged. It is very 



240 



UPLAND. 



seldom indeed, if ever, that a girl refuses to marry under 
such circumstances ; and it is so difficult to provide for 
females safely in India except by marriage, that the 
managers of native schools are always glad to give their 
orphans to any husband who comes with testimonials of 
good character. Even in European and Eurasian charity- 
schools the same procedure is adopted to some extent ; 
and there are many establishments of no small pre- 
tensions where, only a few years ago, any young man 
might present himself, and, with the sanction of the lady 
superintendent, select a wife from among her pupils. 
Of course in these cases the young ladies were allowed 
the option of refusal, and had opportunities of satisfying 
themselves as to the prospects of the candidate for matri- 
mony. 

One Sunday we had a sample of the occasional dis- 
comforts of Indian housekeeping. Seetan, the chief 
house-servant, had taken a long-promised fortnight's 
leave to go and get married ; another left without notice ; 
the boy was ill with earache and fever ; and the tani- 
ketch, or water-carrier, took herself off for some unknown 
reason ; so when the time came for breakfast, there was not 
even a drop of water in the house. Layal, the household 
factotum, had gone as usual to the early Tamil service, so 
nothing was ready ; and though the ladies of the family 
set to work at once, it was a regular scramble to get to 
church in time. 

When Seetan returned after the expiration of his 
leave, he looked very thin and jaded, and petitioned for 
a few days longer and a little advance of pay, to enable 
him to wind up the feast and send away his wife's rela- 
tions. It is the custom for some of these to spend a 
fortnight or three weeks of rejoicing at the bridegroom's 
house, which is a heavy tax on the poor fellow, and often 
loads him with debt for months to come. Seetan' s wed- 



MOUNTAIN RAMBLES. 



241 



ding finery consisted merely of an immense turban of 
chocolate-coloured muslin with a gold stripe, the rest of 
his dress being much as usual ; but he brought a number 
of curious wedding bouquets to present to us, each con- 
sisting of a small lime stuck on a splinter of wood, and 
surrounded by a densely-packed border of small pink 
roses. 

Among our regular morning employments was the 
churning of the butter for the day's consumption in a 
large wide-mouthed bottle. Though many cows were 
kept, they only gave sufficient milk for our use, and not 
always enough to provide us with butter. A pint of milk 
is a fair yield, and even a cupfull is not to be despised ; 
all calves being reared, because the manure is valuable 
for the fertilization of the scanty soil. Once a pretty, 
week-old creature excited some amusement by gravely 
mounting the verandah steps, and finally walking into the 
study, where it manifested a lively interest in its novel 
surroundings. 

One lovely morning we started, while the white fleecy 
clouds lay below us like steam wreaths in the valley, 
to climb a steep cone near the church. It was almost 
too windy for us to keep our feet, but the views 
on every side were exquisite. The mists came rolling 
up the hill-sides, and white clouds crowned the 
bald Shevaroyon, the " King of Strength/' from which 
this range takes its name ; while at intervals we had 
the loveliest peeps into the sun-lighted valleys and plains 
below. 

We found a singular kind of white orchid, with a spur 
four or five inches long, and saw masses of a very pretty 
creeper, which appears to be a species of bryony. The 
blossom resembles a large jessamine, with a number of 
fibres spreading from the edges of the petals, and making 
the flower nearly two inches in diameter. It is of pure 

16 



242 



UPLAND. 



white, and the effect of this delicate halo-like network 
among the dark foliage is singularly beautiful. There 
were also numbers of curious horny insects, about as 
large as the first joint of one's finger, which rolled them- 
selves like woodlice into shining brown and yellow balls ; 
and huge millepedes, three or four inches long, were 
equally common. The whole surface of the hill was little 
more than a sheet of boulders, some deeply bedded in the 
soil, others looking as if the first rush of rain would sweep 
them down. They vary in size from a stone that a child 
could lift, to a mass eight or ten feet square, and lie so 
close together that it is generally easier to climb from 
one to the other than to step between them. Any one 
who has not seen similar hills can scarcely imagine their 
singular appearance, completely covered with these smooth 
grey masses, round which cluster wild dates and ferns, 
with here and there a shrub or stunted tree, and flower- 
ing creepers in abundance. How they got there is a 
geological problem that I should like to see satisfactorily 
solved. 

Immediately after breakfast a box wallah or hawker 
made his appearance. These men are always hailed with 
satisfaction in remote districts, for they bring all sorts of 
useful articles ; and though their goods are not first-rate 
or very fresh, they are much cheaper than can be got in 
shops, besides saving the inconvenience of having to send 
a hundred or a hundred and fifty miles. This man had 
two coolies to carry his packs, which contained salad oil, 
ribbons, sauces, buttons, jams, ink, tea, soap, and mis- 
cellaneous haberdashery and stationery. Of course he 
asked much more than he intended to take, and the 
bargaining was a matter of time, but it ended in our 
buying a considerable quantity of things at nearly English 
prices. There are such continual sales by auction, at the 
large ports^ of unclaimed consignments, etc., that these 



MOUNTAIN RAMBLES. 



243 



men can stock themselves and get a fair profit, often at 
less than English retail prices. The only shop of any 
description in this neighbourhood is about a mile away 
and contains a curious medley of very inferior goods. 
The next nearest is thirteen miles distant, and its contents 
are scarcely more satisfactory. For anything beyond, one 
has to send to Madras, so that between the difficulty of 
the transit, and the carelessness of native servants, one's 
supplies, especially in the way of crockery, are often 
reduced to a very primitive footing. 

Time would fail to tell of all the lovely walks in this 
delightful region, and words can give no adequate idea of 
their varied beauty. Some of the lower roads might 
have been English country lanes, bat for the dense hedges 
of double roses and passion-flowers, and the white evening 
primroses that studded the roadside grass instead of 
daisies. 

The common monthly rose appears quite as manage- 
able for hedges as hawthorn, and can be kept down to 
any height while still flowering profusely; so it seems 
strange that it is never tried for this purpose in large 
grounds at home. Here the young shoots are merely cut 
into foot lengths, and stuck into the ground diagonally 
cross-wise, when they soon form a hedge of wonderful 
beauty. 

Many of the woodland patches are quite English in 
character, the trees magnificent, unmixed with palms or 
plantains, or any foliage that strikes one as distinctively 
tropical. Only the course of streamlets down the ravines 
is generally marked by the feathery branches of the 
large tree ferns, which lift their heads quite to the level 
of the low jungle trees. 

Two evening walks still stand out clear in memory, 
and at the risk of what may seem like repetition I must try 
to give some idea of their distinguishing features. Cne 



244 



UPLAND. 



led us across a wide common, covered with yellow flower- 
ing shrubs, up a steep hill, from which we looked down 
on an undulating stretch of verdure far below, valley and 
hill so thickly clothed with trees as to give them a rich, 
soft, mossy look, while here and there a cleared patch of 
the most vivid green relieved the view. Beyond these 
spread the vast panorama of plain and distant mountains 
that opens here at every point where one attains a little 
elevation. We sat on the top ledge of rock, with our feet 
upon another, below which the descent was as perpen- 
dicular as a wall ; and enjoyed the fresh breeze, while the 
sun set cloudily behind the distant mountains, pouring 
floods of golden light from behind masses of dark vapour, 
and literally bathing the hills in glory. Halfway across 
the plain we could see the rain marching along in columns 
and passing hill after hill. We comforted ourselves in 
our shelterless and umbrella-less condition with the 
idea that it was passing on one side of us, but a few 
sharp drops soon dissipated the illusion, and we com- 
menced our descent with more haste than dignity. It 
was well there were no spectators of our precipitate 
scramble over rocks and ferns, but we managed to get in 
before the storm broke, and the escape was worth the 
effort. 

The other time the goal of our pilgrimage was a place 
called Pagoda Point, and the first part of our walk was 
a broad good road winding among the plantations or 
bordered by jungle. In one place we found a splendid 
white lily, a single flower upon a tall stem, twice the size of 
the common English garden lily, and with a wonderfully rich 
strong perfume, which, as we bore it in triumph, refreshed 
us all the way. It is useless to attempt to describe the 
scenery — the undulating coffee-grounds, the majestic 
timber trees, the orange avenues, the rose hedges, the 
near hills covered with jungle or rugged with grey 



MOUNTAIN RAMBLES. 



245 



boulders, and the spots of open ground where jessamine, 
evening primroses, and other flowers grew wild. It would 
only be a repetition of mere words that could give no 
idea of the constantly varying scene. Towards the end 
of our walk, fields rudely enclosed and filled with various 
grain crops gave quite an English look to the view ; and 
then an interval of abrupt climbing, up and round a rocky 
hill, brought us within sight of the pagodas from which 
the spot takes its name. They are simple erections of 
unhewn rough stone, square and tapering very gradually 
to a point — perhaps about sixteen feet high, and six wide 
at the base. There is no opening, though they are said 
to contain images, and round them are a few " swamy " 
or idol-houses, ordinary thatched dwellings with walls so 
low that we had to stoop almost on hands and knees to 
peep in. The only one we saw open contained two wooden 
figures like clumsy rocking-horses, coarsely painted red 
and black, and gilt. A little further on was a broad 
rough stone altar, with a small rude figure upon it, 
apparently intended for a kneeling bull ; and behind this 
image was inserted a wooden post rudely carved, from 
the top of which projected four curved iron spikes, " the 
horns of the altar." 

A few more steps brought us to the brink of the hill, 
which commands a view of rare beauty even for this 
neighbourhood. The slope was abrupt, over jutting 
blocks of stone, among which bright flowering trees and 
shrubs found footing here and there, and zinnias, balsams, 
marigolds, and ferns spread their bright carpet wherever 
an inch of soil could be found. Below, in the rich valley, 
were cultivated patches and beds of plantains, displaying 
every soft and vivid shade of green, and beehive-like 
villages nestling under the shelter of splendid trees ; 
while ranges of hills crossed the prospect, some clothed 
with trees to the summit, and others bare and grey. The 



246 



UPLAND. 



far-off plains were spread before us like a map, the lines 
of road dotted with rows of trees, and gleaming sheets 
of water showing how abundant had been the recent 
rainfall. 

We had clambered down a little way to gather 
some choice ferns, when we were startled by the 
sudden apparition of some natives just above our 
heads. One was an elderly man, apparently a teacher 
or priest, and the others younger, all wrapped in the 
dark brown rugs or blankets commonly worn up here ; 
and, after standing a few moments, the elder man 
knelt down, and bowed his forehead to the ground 
repeatedly, before the idol I have described. Then 
he rose, and the others gravely and reverently followed 
his example; after which, they seated themselves at 
the brow of the hill, and seemed to admire the pros- 
pect, the elder man discoursing to them all the while, 
apparently on some religious topic. It made one's 
very heart ache to see these intelligent -looking men 
bowing down amid such glorious works of the Creator's 
hand to idols so utterly degraded and contemptible ; 
and one longed to be able to speak their tongue, so 
as to tell them, as Paul told the Athenians, ""Whom, 
ye ignorantly worship, Him declare I unto you/*'' 
Nowhere is the wretched effect of the confusion of 
tongues more felt than in India, where there are so 
many distinct languages in one peninsula and under the 
same government. Urdoo, Hindi, Bengali, Ooriya, Tamil, 
Teloogoo, Malayali, Gnzerati, and Canarese are only some 
of the multitudinous tongues heard in various parts ; 
and, in Madras, the very titles given to domestic 
servants are all different to those used in the northern 
provinces. Instead of kitmutghars, bheesties, etc., 
one hears of mateys, toties, and taniketches ; while 
the master and mistress, instead of being sahib and 



MOUNTAIN RAMBLES. 



247 



mem sahib, rejoice in the more euphonious appellations 
of dore and doresanie. 

By the time we turned to descend the hill, the evening 
breeze blew fresh and cool, and the moon had just risen ; 
and long before we reached home it would have been dark 
but for her radiance. The stillness of coming night was 
only broken by the croaking of innumerable frogs, a loud, 
but by no means unmusical sound. Xow and then we 
met a few natives, and once passed three Europeans ; 
but, for the rest, the road was absolutely lonely, with 
only a dwelling here and there in sight. It seemed 
strange to be walking by moonlight miles away from 
home, and totally unprotected, in a wild district of 
India ; but no one seems to think of danger, except 
in the dark, when cheetahs, and even tigers, might be 
abroad. 



218 



III 

BACK TO THE PLAINS AGAIN. 

At last this pleasant sojourn on the hills came to a close ; 
and strengthened and invigorated, but with many regrets, 
I prepared for my return to the stifling atmosphere of 
the plains. The evening before I left, we paid a last visit 
to the little Hindoo burying-ground, chiefly in order to 
get some ferns for transplanting to Calcutta. It looked 
lovelier than ever after the recent rains, and the little 
brook at the bottom was quite a roaring torrent. We got 
some beautiful specimens, including a young tree fern, 
which I left as a parting gift to the flourishing fernery, 
receiving in return a fine root of English violets to add 
to my treasures ; and, after packing them carefully, we 
went early to bed, in order to rise at five, the time fixed 
for my downward journey. Breakfast was soon over, and 
I had said good-bye, kissed little Minnie in her rosy sleep, 
and been packed in my chair, furnished with fruit and 
provisions for the way, before the clock struck six. 

The hills seemed to put on all their loveliness that 
parting morning. Those glorious hills ! How I wish 
that words could convey any adequate idea of their ever- 
varying loveliness ! For the first few miles the road was 
smooth and well kept, and swept down hill very gradu- 
ally, past the broad, peaceful lake, slumbering among 
the wooded heights, past the sacred wood, and by a sacred 



BACK TO THE PLAINS AGAIN. 



249 



hill ; then down through coffee plantations, by the deep 
dingle full of tree ferns, before the steep descent began. 
It was the same ghaut by which I had been carried up ; 
but the descending views .were far the finest, from the 
broad, lovely glimpses of the low country, which had 
been behind us during the ascent. The bearers did their 
work beautifully, keeping fairly in step ; and though my 
heavy trunk had been sent on before, we formed quite a 
procession. First went the coolies : one, a woman, bear- 
ing on her head a load that few Englishmen would have 
volunteered to carry for a mile ; and the other, a man, 
carrying a stout packing-case filled with plants, which 
weighed eighty-six pounds. Then came I, seated in my 
arm-chair, borne aloft on the shoulders of four men, with 
the pockets of my old English waterproof crammed with 
sandwiches and fruit, and the whole shaded by an 
umbrella which I had much ado to manage, as it was 
frequently necessary to hold myself in the chair by both 
hands ; the road being so perpendicular that even with a 
board for my feet it was difficult to keep from slipping. 

The other four bearers, with the head man, kept near, 
carrying small articles, and changing places with their 
comrades as they found it convenient. We never paused 
a minute the whole thirteen or fourteen miles, and they 
scarcely intermitted their peculiar song. The hire of the 
eleven, including the return journey of one of them with 
the chair, was but fourteen shillings ; and people trust 
themselves and their property unreservedly in the hands 
of these wild people, travelling alone by night and day, 
through forests where they may not see another face for 
miles. Their honesty is absolutely unimpeachable, and 
shames that of civilized nations. Goods that have to be 
sent down a ghaut like this are simply put into their 
hands, and sent miles beyond one's reach, without even 
an inquiry as to their names and dwelling place; and 



250 



UPLAND. 



though they are commonly paid beforehand, no instance 
has been known of any breach of trust. 

By the time we reached the foot of the ghaut it was 
nearly nine o' clock, so the sun was very powerful, and 
the three miles of fiat road were intensely hot. Swarms 
of white butterflies hovered round the shrubs, mingled 
with gorgeous swallow-tails, clad in black, crimson, and 
white, and other kinds marbled with various colours, or 
white with vivid scarlet tips. The strangest form of 
vegetation here was displayed by the cactus tribe — real 
trees of ten or twelve feet high, with a thick trunk, 
rising to a considerable height before the branches began 
to part. These were not in blossom, but another flat- 
leaved variety with yellow flowers was fully out, and the 
blossoms crowded with rose-spotted moths. The beauty 
of the red crags which reared themselves against the blue 
sky, near the entrance of the ghaut, was another feature 
in the landscape not to be forgotten. 

For some miles the railway was bordered by the hills, 
and though they gradually fell back towards the horizon, 
they were never fully out of sight all day. During more 
than half the journey one might almost have fancied 
oneself travelling through English or Welsh scenery, the 
only distinctively foreign objects being the thick hedges 
of aloe and cactus which bordered the line — as sure a 
protection against trespass, as could be devised — the 
thick lanceolate leaves of the former, and the fearful 
prickles that arm the latter, being well adapted to keep 
off man and beast. The candelabra- shaped flower stems 
of the aloe stood ten or twelve feet high, and the cacti 
were covered with purplish fruit as large as a good-sized 
pear. 

Great part of the land was divided into fields, and 
covered with grain crops of various kinds, all unlike 
English cereals — one with a globular head of grain, and 



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251 



another similar in growth to wheat, but with ears as 
large as bulrush heads. The rain had made the verdure 
most rich and lovely, and the dragonflies and butterflies 
were splendid, but the heat and dust extremely trying. 

Once or twice we passed groves of palm, if those can 
be rightly called groves, which afforded scarcely more 
shade than so many congregated lamp -posts. The tall, 
bare stems taper very rapidly from the base, often swell- 
ing out again in ungainly protuberances about halfway 
up, and crowned with little bristling tufts, very different 
to the graceful cocoa palms most abundant in Bengal, 
which impart to all the scenery there a character so 
richly oriental. These on the other hand, are a species 
of fan palm, and have as little of the beautiful or 
picturesque about them as can well be imagined. 

Herds of uncouth, mouse- coloured buffaloes were 
wallowing in the roadside pools, up to their eyes in mud 
and water ; their long* horns, which often curve in very 
eccentric directions, or lie back on their shoulders, giving 
them a peculiarly wild and vicious look. They are, how- 
ever, very inoffensive, and their milk is richer than that 
of the cow, though not so nice or wholesome. 

We stopped two or three times in the day for half an 
hour, and the Babel on the platform was astonishing. 
Every native talks at the top of his voice, so there is ten 
times the noise, if not half the business, of an English 
station. There were probably not twenty Europeans in 
the train all day, but the native carriages were packed 
like sheep pens. 

As we neared Madras, the line was bordered by rice 
grounds, each little plot surrounded by a neat embank- 
ment a few inches high, and so perfectly levelled, that 
about an inch of water would cover it. This was supplied 
by a primitive bamboo lever acting as a lift, and a 
similar, but more complicated, arrangement worked by 



252 



UPLAND. 



two or three men is in almost universal use in Madras 
for drawing water — pumps and windlasses being, as far as 
I saw, equally unknown. Rice is beautiful when grow- 
ing, being of an intensely brilliant yellow green, and one 
might see it in various stages of growth in contiguous 
plots, one being a bare sheet of water, while the next had 
a crop a few inches high, and the growth in another 
reached, perhaps, a couple of feet. 

As evening closed in, the hedges were literally alive 
with fireflies, of which there are two kinds about here, 
one much larger than the other. Both are narrow 
dusky beetles, the smaller not above half an inch long, 
the light proceeding from three or four of the hinder 
segments of the body. A solitary firefly is perhaps not 
so pretty as an English glowworm, the light being 
yellowish instead of the lovely green hue of our wayside 
sparkler ; but the effect of the swarms of dancing lights 
that flicker over low shrubby grounds in India is indescrib- 
ably beautiful. 

The long day's journey, combined with the sudden 
change of temperature from 65° or 70° to 90°, was very 
trying, and my first day at Madras was spent in helpless 
lassitude. We went for an evening drive in the park, 
where I was struck by the inferiority of the equipages to 
those in Calcutta ; some of the people even having the bad 
taste to put their coachmen into English dress, which 
looks mean and ridiculous beside the graceful costume of 
the natives. Nothing can be more unbecomiug to a 
Hindoo, either male or female, than any assumption of 
Western apparel ; the dark garb which suits an English 
gentleman, and the hat or bonnet of an English lady, 
being equally unsuitable to the features, complexion, and 
gait of our Eastern fellow-subjects. 

Among the oddities of Madras are the tiny vehicles 
used by the lower class of natives, and called cc sigrain 



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253 



po, " which literally means ""quickly go 39 — little close 
wooden carriages, like a miniature cab, into which three 
or four natives will crush themselves, sitting with knees 
and noses crammed together, with the greatest apparent 
satisfaction and complacency. 

Most houses here are not more than one story high, and 
the compounds are very large, so that one would rather 
imagine oneself living in some country suburb than in the 
midst of a capital. Except in the Black Town and in 
one line of houses on the beach, there is scarcely any- 
thing that looks like a city ; and this arrangement, though 
pleasant and healthy, has its inconveniences, the chief 
being the great distance one has to traverse for either 
calling or shopping. The rents are however very 
moderate, a comfortable house with compound, stabling, 
and other outbuildings being attainable for about £4 a 
month, less than one would give for a good flat in Calcutta. 
On the other hand, the shops are immeasurably inferior 
and very dear. 

In the church we attended I first saw "kuskus tatties 39 
employed for refreshing the air. They are light lattice- 
work frames, made to fit into the open windows, and 
intertwined or stuffed with the fibrous roots of the kuskus 
grass, which are kept moist by water continually thrown 
upon them from outside. This not only cools the air by 
its rapid evaporation, but gives out a delightful faint 
odour like that of sandal wood. 

In one of our drives we passed a little tope or grove, 
all alive with the shrill cries of the flying foxes. These are 
a large species of bat, about the size of a crow, and may 
readily be mistaken when abroad in the evening twilight 
for home-going rooks ; till the shorter wings and heavier 
build draw attention to the bat formation behind. They 
are great plunderers of all kinds of fruit, and some of 
the natives consider them good eating. By day they 



254 



UPLAND. 



hang all over the trees in the shady topes which they 
frequent, looking like black rags suspended from the 
branches. 

Once also during this visit we experienced another of 
the occasional inconveniences of Indian housekeeping. 
We were kept waiting for dinner by some callers, till the 
roast beef was nearly cold, and the moment it came under 
the lamp we saw that the dish was swarming with 
minute red ants. These creatures are the special plague 
of Madras, w^here they infest everybody and everything ; 
and though their sting is very trifling, the irritation of 
having" them about one is a great annoyance. Three 
times the dish was taken away before the meat was satis- 
factorily cleared of them, and the gravy was thick with 
their bodies. The servants had neglected to set the dish, 
while waiting, on a stand insulated in a pan of hot water, 
which would have been a safeguard against invasion. 

Another time in the early morning, when a piece of 
bread and a glass of milk were brought for my chota 
hazree, I took a mouthful or two, imagining it to be brown 
bread, before I discovered that the dark hue was caused 
by every crevice being filled with these tiny ants. 

A very pleasant surprise brightened the close of this 
stay at Madras — the arrival of an old friend from England, 
who had come out to engage in zenana work, accom- 
panied by another lady proceeding to a mission station 
in the north-west. Both were hospitably received by 
my friends, and as bed-room accommodation was scanty 
and they both found the heat very oppressive, they elected 
to share my quarters on the roof, by far the pleasantest 
and coolest spot on the premises. Our moonlight walks 
in this airy dormitory were most delightful, the large 
compound with its majestic trees sleeping in the still 
radiance around us, as if under some fairy spell, and the 
voluptuous breath of the heavily blossomed creepers 



BACK TO THE PLAINS AGAIN. 



255 



wafted to us with every stir of the night breeze. The quis- 
qualis, one of these creepers, common both here and in 
Calcutta, deserves especial mention for its profuse blossom 
and voluptuous fragrance. It is a strong, woody, wildly 
luxuriant climber • arid its flowers, which grow in large 
loose bunches, change their colour from pink to white or 
white to pink, while still in perfect bloom, and absolutely 
load the night air with their luscious odour. 

Our mattrasses were spread on the roof and the 
mosquito nets ingeniously secured above them ; but we 
were roused in the middle of the night by a sudden 
change of weather. The wind had risen fiercely, and 
dark clouds covered the sky ; the lightning which had 
been playing in harmless beauty all the evening now 
looked stormy and wild, and there were a few low growls 
of thunder. Iso time was to be lost, for I knew better 
than my companions the hurrying fury of a tropical 
storm. We bundled up our bedding as quickly as 
possible, and beat a hasty retreat — not a second too soon, 
for large drops were already falling, and in a few minutes 
the roof was a sheet of water. We had to spread our 
belongings where we could, and finish the night in an 
atmosphere that seemed all the more sultry in contrast to 
our former airy resting place. 

Next morning the gardeners brought in a snake seven 
feet long, which they had killed in the hedge, and con- 
cerning which an extraordinary belief prevails. The end 
of the tail is extremely thin, and the natives assert that 
when the creature has bitten anything, it instantly whips 
this extremity into the wound, and thus poisons it fatally. 
It was useless to inquire whether any one had ever wit- 
nessed this singular performance; bat the belief in it is 
common in Bengal as well as in other parts of India. 

Oar transit to the vessel which was to convey us to 
Calcutta was a very noisy and exciting one. Woe to the 



256 



UPLAND. 



unhappy unprotected female who has to land or embark 
at Madras ! She is instantly surrounded by a gang of 
boatmen or coolies, who possess themselves of her pro- 
perty and of herself, shouting and jabbering to a deafen- 
ing extent, and demanding six or seven times their 
lawful hire. However, we were fortunate enough to have 
a gentleman's escort, and by steadily referring everything 
to him, we managed to get ourselves and our goods 
all together into a boat. These boats, made expressly for 
passage through the surf, are large and clumsy, sewn 
together, and leaking profusely ; but no English boat 
could endure what they do. A rude awning is put up at 
one end, and a floor laid for the passengers, all the rest of 
the bottom being full of water, which keeps two or three 
of the crew incessantly employed in baling. The sides 
stand nearly a yard out of the water, and across the very 
top are fixed a number of spars for the boatmen to sit on 
and rest their feet against. About fourteen men are 
required, who keep up a wild song as they row with 
their long paddles. It is by no means an easy matter to 
embark or disembark at the Madras pier, where the swell 
of the surf alternately lifts and lowers the boat to an 
extent very trying to the nerves of an irresolute traveller ; 
and the motion in the harbour is quite enough to upset 
any one not proof against sea-sickness. 

There was nothing worthy of remark on the return 
voyage, except the temporary unpleasantness of finding 
oneself among strange company at the saloon table. The 
vessel was very crowded, and some of the first-class 
passengers had assuredly not been accustomed to sit at a 
civilized board ; their use of knives and forks being as 
indiscriminate as their ideas of English grammar were 
hazy. Our lot was cast at first among quite a knot of 
these people, probably artisans, engineers, etc., whose 
passage had been paid by Calcutta firms or given them 



BACK TO THE PLAINS AGAIN. 



257 



by the company. Workmen of this class, engine-drivers, 
plate-layers, and overseers of various works, earn large 
salaries in India, and begin at once to emulate the dress 
and equipages of their betters, doing very much to lower 
the standard of Europeans in the estimation of the 
natives. In a land where the aristocracy of colour pre- 
vails more, perhaps, than in any other, every white 
person being a u sahib " or "meni sahib/' the results 
of this state of things are increasingly deplorable. 

An appeal to the purser secured us from inconveni- 
ence for the rest of the short voyage ; and the fourth day 
saw us safely landed at Calcutta, with grateful recollections 
of beauty and kindness associated for ever in our memories 
with the Shevaroy hills. 



17 



258 



IV 

A PLEASURE TRIP TO A SACRED MOUNTAIN. 

It was the 7th of May, the thermometer standing at 98° 
in the shade, and the punkah barely making existence 
endurable, when the casual suggestion of a friend suddenly 
brightened the weary prospect, and opened out a vista of 
unforeseen enjoyment. 

I had heard before of Parisnath, a sacred hill, situated 
in what is called the Switzerland of Bengal, and had more 
than once planned to escape to its breezy heights for a 
short breathing time ; but the difficulties of the journey, 
and the uncertainty both of accommodation and provision, 
had hitherto nipped such projects in the bud. Now, a 
party of friends were about to proceed thither ; and, 
furnished with ample information for the journey, gained 
by their inquiries, and certain of a share of shelter and 
provision on arrival, I determined to summon up courage 
for the journey. 

It may be asked, why I could not accompany my 
friends, and what could be the difficulty or danger of a 
journey of less than one hundred and fifty miles ? But 
the answer to these questions, so easily put, involves con- 
siderable explanation. In the first place, nearly fifty 
miles of the journey lay beyond railway limits ; and the 
only mode of performing that portion of the route was to 
arrange with the inland transit agent to "lay a dawk/' 



A PLEASURE TRIP TO A SACKED MOUNTAIN. 259 



that lSj to provide a vehicle and relays of horses along the 
road ; and as the resources of the agency did not extend 
beyond providing for the two vehicles required by my 
friends, my journey was necessarily deferred till they 
were safely housed at Parisnath. 

The other difficulties arose from the circumstance that 
the sacred mountain was far away from any European 
neighbourhood, and that neither attendance nor provision, 
except of the rudest description, could be procured up 
there. Shelter there was, for the mountain had once 
been tried as a military sanitarium ; and, though aban- 
doned for that purpose since many years, the government 
buildings remained, and the use of them was freely granted 
on the application of any respectable party. But as the 
only furniture left in this mountain refuge consisted of a 
f ew rude bedsteads, clumsy tables, and dilapidated chairs, 
the visitors must either content themselves without the 
appliances of civilized life, or carry up with them every- 
thing that they deemed essential to existence. 

This of course rendered the journey both a toilsome 
and an expensive one, and one which few ladies would 
undertake alone. Indian railway charges for luggage are 
very heavy, and when the conveyance of servants, bed- 
ding, cooking utensils, crockery, and provisions, had to 
be added to one's own personal expenses, the total formed 
a heavy charge for ten clays' or a fortnight's holiday. 
Xow, however, freed by the kind hospitality of my friends 
from the greater portion of the burden, I arranged to 
start a few days after them, taking with me a young 
friend and my trusty bearer Bowhanie, with only lighter 
articles of bedding and table furniture, and a few contri- 
butions to the stock of provision. 

For the dawk journey alone, going and returning, I 
had to pay £6, the railway fares being comparatively 
moderate. For a considerable distance the line was the 



260 



UPLAND. 



same as that described in the previous journey to Monghyr. 
By the roadside were the usual rice grounds, now as bare 
as ploughed fields ; the usual stagnant pools, some green, 
some yellow, some red, owing to various-coloured duck- 
weed scums, with men and women as usual bathing in 
them and washing their clothes, or fishing for large fresh- 
water prawns ; the usual jungle and fringe of palm-trees 
on the horizon, and the usual paddy-birds and kingfishers, 
buffaloes and adjutants, which are almost the only living 
creatures visible on a journey in Bengal. Only at Burdwan 
and one or two other places was anything like a gentle- 
man's house visible near or far. No towns or villas, 
nothing but bare rice-plains and mud villages, the round 
thatched huts of which much resemble small hay-ricks, 
as they cluster together half- hidden by the overshadowing 
palms. 

At seven in the evening, after about nine hours' 
journey, we reached Barrakur, the railway terminus, and 
found to our dismay that there was no refreshment-room 
or means of getting even hot water for tea. The guard, 
however, was very civil, and finding that we were going 
to travel all night, made us some tea himself in the only 
cups to be found in the place, and sent a bearer to pull 
the punkah over us meanwhile. At the same time our 
luggage was got out, and packed in and on the dawk 
gharry, which, according to orders, was awaiting us. 

It was an oblong, box-like carriage, considerably 
longer and more angular in build than an English cab ; 
and when a board was fitted between the seats, the 
cushions and our quilts and pillows made a tolerably 
comfortable bed for two. The larger luggage was stowed 
on the top, and the smaller at our feet and under the board, 
while a net above received hats and umbrellas. Alto- 
gether there seemed good cause to be satisfied with the 
prospect of comfort^ so we got in and lay down, with the 



A PLEASURE TRIP TO A SACRED MOUNTAIN. 



261 



sliding doors wide open ; Bowhanie mounted the box by 
the driver, and the vehicle started. The moon had not 
risen, and it was too dark to distinguish objects clearly ; 
but the horse and driver seemed to know their work, and 
for the first stage or two all went well. The stages are 
but five miles in length, and at the end of each a fresh 
horse was waiting by the roadside with a syce, or run- 
ning footman, who harnessed him, and ran by his side 
the whole of the next stage, occasionally mounting the 
gharry if the animal seemed pretty capable. The next 
halting-place reached, his charge ended, and another syce 
and horse took up the service, the same driver officiating 
all the way. The road was pretty good, being the trunk 
or main road from Calcutta to Benares, and on across the 
country ; and till the railway diverted the traffic, it was a 
very busy scene. Now, however, all is changed, and 
except a few bullock- carts and the mail- gig, we met 
nothing the whole night long. 

The moon soon rose, and though but young, gave a 
fair light ; so about ten o'clock, while they were changing 
horses, we resolved to get out and walk. It seemed 
strange, when we reflected on it for a moment, to find 
ourselves alone in the dead stillness of the night on a high 
road, many miles away from any other European; and 
yet almost more fearless than we should have had cause 
to be under similar circumstances at home. The star- 
light was brilliant, and altogether we enjoyed the little 
change; but when the gharry came up after a con- 
siderable delay, Bowhanie protested strongly against our 
doing so again, for fear of tigers, and we submitted with 
discretion. 

Now, however, we soon began to find that we had had 
the best of our journey. The agent probably keeps two 
tolerable horses for the first stages, on purpose to put 
travellers into good spirits ; for after this every horse was 



262 



UPLAND. 



worse than his predecessor; and so we plodded on our 
miserable, sleepless way, through the whole weary night, 
the wretched animals now and then coming to a full stop, 
and only kept up to a walking pace by incessant shouts 
and blows. 

At last, about four in the morning, matters came to a 
crisis. One tired beast was taken out of the shafts, but 
the other could not be put in. He was ill, they said ; and 
knowing how little compassion Hindoos ever show to 
animals, we could not urge them to attempt it. So there 
we were on the silent highway, in the midst of a little 
native village, where every one was fast asleep. Dawn 
was just beginning, but our dilemma was one from which 
even daylight would not deliver us. What was to be 
done ? Of course there was no other horse to be had, for 
these animals are comparatively seldom seen, except in 
large towns ; and bullocks, even if we could get them, 
would have been slower still. At last the coachman, 
evidently used to such emergencies, suggested that they 
should go and hunt up coolies to pull and push the car- 
riage through the next stage. So he went on his quest, 
and we waited as patiently as we might, tormented by 
thirst, for the heat was as great as in Calcutta, and the 
restlessness had made us feel it more. Water we dared 
not ask for, for the Bengalis will drink out of any filthy 
ditch, and we could not have ventured on what they 
might bring; but we asked the men, who now stood 
round the gharry, if there was any milk to be had. No, 
there were no cows. Could we get goats' milk ? Of this 
they seemed doubtful; so Bowhanie went on a tour of 
investigation through the village, knocking up the people 
remorselessly in the prosecution of his search. We waited 
anxiously, but in vain. Not a drop was to be had; and 
there we lay, in the grey light of the summer morning, 
weary, parched, and comfortless, without the smallest 



A PLEASURE TRIP TO A SACRED MOUNTAIN. 263 

idea how or when we should be able to proceed with our 
journey. 

At last the driver returned with eight men the shafts 
were taken off, and a couple of stout bamboos attached 
across the front of the carriage. Three men pulled at 
each, and the other two pushed in the rear ; and once in 
motion, we went on considerably faster than the horses 
had brought us. The mountains were already showing 
themselves in the distance, and presently one steep pull 
succeeded another in the road, with only short intervals 
of level ground. We got out to walk up one or two, 
when the load seemed too much for the men ; but were 
soon obliged to give in and return to the carriage, owing 
to our thirsty and fasting condition. The hills gradually 
closed in on each side, and the scenery grew very pretty — 
the road running on straight between them steeper than 
ever. At last the short stage was done, the next horse 
stood waiting in his place, and the men unyoked them- 
selves and prepared to depart. Of course the contractor 
was bound to pay them for that stage, but we did not 
like to dismiss the poor fellows without something ; and 
they went away well pleased with a rupee between them. 
Threepence each was not an extravagant gratuity for the 
stage they had performed. 

One stage more, and we reached Tope Chauncy, a 
" dawk bungalow/' that is to say, a sort of post-house of 
very limited accommodation, maintained by Government. 
In these places any traveller may halt, and get bed, bath, 
or meal, of course in very primitive style, by paying a 
trifling fee for the accommodation, and giving a small 
gratuity to the native servants in charge. 

It was now seven o'clock on Whit Sunday morning, 
the time when we were due at Parisnath ; but now, 
thanks to these miserable delays, there was nothing for 
it but to rest a little, and try to gain strength to go on. 



264 



UPLAND. 



So the trunks were unloaded, and we got out a change of 
clothing ; bathed, breakfasted on eggs, chupatties, and tea 
— furnishing the latter ourselves— had a little quiet time 
in the shady verandah, and in two hours started again. 
The heat was soon intense on the road, but we felt much 
refreshed. The halt, the baths, and the breakfast for 
two, including fees to the cook and three other servants, 
cost only about four shillings. 

The road became increasingly pretty as we advanced ; 
but, alas, the horses manifested no improvement. Once, 
before we actually reached the halting place, the driver 
broke out into a sharp fire of remonstrance and abuse at 
sight of the animal awaiting him ; and as he had said 
nothing about the previous wretched brutes, we felt no 
little interest as to the special demerits of this new 
specimen. All the information we could obtain, however, 
was the vague assurance that he was a notorious " bud- 
mash " (i.e., villain), and that he would be very wicked for 
a long time, and then go well. The moment the coach- 
man wanted him to go, the nature of his delinquencies 
became sufficiently apparent. Two or three men and 
boys, who evidently knew him of old, and were attracted 
to the spot by the prospect of some fun, stationed them- 
selves at the wheels, and when the word of command 
was given, laboured with all their might to turn them, 
evidently anxious to delude him into the belief that he 
had a very easy load to draw. He was not to be so 
beguiled. Not a step would he stir for any persuasion 
or endearment, and the coachman was clearly afraid to 
try other means. There was a steep descent of a few feet 
on each side of the road, down which a sudden plunge 
would have rolled the carriage, so there was ample reason 
for his caution. He shouted and shook the reins, and 
the bystanders all shouted and tugged at the horse and at 
the wheels ; but no — he stood like a horse of stone. The 



A PLEASUEE TRIP TO A SACRED MOUNTAIN. 265 

scene was ludicrous in the extreme, as well as annoying. 
In England, one would have got out and walked the five 
miles, but under this deadly sun, it would have been mad- 
ness to attempt it. At last the driver got out of patience, 
and down came a blow on the horse's back ; but the 
same instant brought the sharp sound of his hind hoofs 
on the front of the gharry, while his fore feet were 
planted on the ground more doggedly than ever. After 
one or two repetitions of this, one of the men tried 
another plan. A rope was slipped over one foot and 
dragged it by main force off the ground, while the driver 
whipped, another man poked him in the ribs with a 
stick, and the volunteer auxiliaries laboured at the 
wheels. This succeeded, and at last we were off, but 
as the whole road was a succession of small ascents, 
interspersed with bits of level, and this performance was 
repeated at every rise, our circumstances were decidedly 
unfavourable to the cultivation of a Sabbatic state of 
mind. 

After passing above half the stage in this manner, the 
brute suddenly changed his mind, and almost galloped 
the rest of the way, thus fulfilling in every respect the 
driver's prediction. The scenery was more like England 
than anything I had seen in India. On the right were 
the hills, already rising near and grand, clothed with trees 
to the summit ; but it was not here the resemblance lay. 
On the other side, considerably below us, spread a broad 
and rather flat expanse, bounded by low hills just like the 
Cotswolds, and dotted with rows and clumps of trees. 
Cattle were feeding in the fields, and there were no 
palms of any kind to break the charm. The trees might 
have been English trees, and the view was such as one 
might see almost anywhere in the midland counties in 
the course of a few miles' drive. It brought on a fit of 
home sickness that overpowered me with a rush of 



266 



UPLAND. 



irrepressible tears, and it was long before the sudden 
burst of yearning could be quieted again. 

About eleven o'clock the last bungalow was reached, 
and as we had been repeatedly assured that bearers and 
dandies would be waiting for us there, we did not want 
even to drive up to the door ; but the proverb which tells 
of the blessedness of him who expects nothing is certainly 
pre-eminently true in India. The dandies, our new convey- 
ances, were visible enough in the verandah, but not the 
coolies to carry them ; and we were reluctantly obliged to 
admit the necessity of going into the house to wait for them. 

This, not being a regular dawk bungalow, was a most 
wretched place. One little room half filled by a filthy 
bedstead and an old table, was the whole extent of the 
accommodation, besides a dark bath-room perfectly empty. 
The only other articles of any description were two old 
chairs ; and when we came to make inquiry about the 
coolies we found that they lived about two miles off, and 
were all probably scattered at their work in the fields. 
Moreover it was so hot that we were advised not to start 
till evening, even if they could be got together. 

Assuredly it was very trying to patience. We could 
just see the bungalow whither we were bound, on the 
ridge of the hill, perhaps not above a mile or two away 
as the crow flies, but six miles as we should have to go ; 
and yet we were compelled to stay in the dense brooding 
heat below, instead of breakfasting in the fresh, pure, 
mountain air as we had hoped to do. There was but one 
consolation — the only one for lesser as well as greater 
disappointments — the thought of Whose will orders all 
these seeming misadventures; and so we resigned 
ourselves to make the best of it. 

We could only get water to drink, and that not very 
good, but we had plenty of biscuits and cheese ; so we 
made a tolerable meal and then rested and read. Before 



A PLEASUEE TEIP TO A SACRED MOUNTAIN. 



267 



long I noticed a heavy cloud gathering over one of the 
hills on the southern horizon, and the wind began to 
blow in a manner very suggestive of a storm. Gradually 
the cloud seemed to come down in heavy, distant rain, and 
swept round to the west, leaving the south hills clear ; 
and we had some hope that it was spent, as far as our 
neighbourhood was concerned. Soon however the whole 
sky darkened, and such a dust storm set in that it took 
the united efforts of three men to hold and bolt the door. 
The clouds gathered a second time over the western hills, 
and came clown evidently in dense torrents with a few 
rolling thunder-peals ; but, alas ! instead of clearing off, 
they drove round again to the south and on to the east, 
drawing nearer and nearer across the plain. We ran out 
into the little verandah, and saw them drift on till they 
wrapped the head of Parisnath in fleecy masses : we 
could even see them sweep into the little bungalow ; and 
then in a few moments the whole mountain was as com- 
pletely hidden from view as if a curtain had been dropped 
between. Torrents of rain rushed hissing down, sheets 
of water swept across the parched ground, and filled the 
dry bed of the stream in front ; and the temperature sunk 
so suddenly that we opened our trunks again, and put on 
warm inner and outer garments. This was accomplished 
under difficulties, for there was no glass to the window of 
the bungalow, and the wind lifted the strong wooden 
plates of the Venetian shutters as if they had been paper, 
and drove the rain straight across the room. Moreover, 
in a very few minutes the roof was soaked through, and 
the water began to drip upon us everywhere. Bag and 
baggage had to be heaped up on the old bedstead, and 
we were driven out into the north verandah, which, being 
less exposed to the storm, still gave a shelter. Here we 
sat watching the pelting rain, and speculating on our 
prospects for the night. The alternatives were four — 



268 



UPLAND. 



that tlie rain should cease ; that we should attempt the 
ascent in it ; that we should stay where we were, and 
sleep as best we could, living on biscuit and cheese and 
water till it abated ; or that we should send to the only 
other house in the place and ask hospitality. All these 
possibilities, except the first, were sufficiently intolerable, 
and the second would have been madness. However, 
after about an hour and a half of extreme violence the 
storm ceased, and we prepared to start at once, the 
coolies having been sheltering for some time in the out- 
house ready. 

But the conveyances — how shall I describe them ? 
Each consisted of a stout double piece of sacking, about 
eight feet long and four wide, roughly plaited at each 
end into a thick leather binding, and then attached to an 
iron ring slipped on a strong bamboo, so as to form a 
sort of hammock ; and in these we made ourselves as 
comfortable as we could, with cloaks and pillows. Be- 
sides the four men to carry each, there were four more to 
relieve them in turn, and four more to carry our luggage, 
so we formed altogether quite a procession. 

The road was at first level, winding through jungle ; 
and then the ascent began, climbing the hillside in very 
zigzag fashion. The whole mountain is clothed with trees 
of the brightest green, and covered with masses of rock 
of every size and shape. Sometimes the path led for a 
considerable distance along a ledge cut in the steep 
rocky side ; and as the bearers always seem to prefer the 
outer edge of the road, we were often literally swinging 
over the sheer descent. Here and there a singular 
creeper, with a brown stem twelve or fourteen inches in 
circumference, wound its bare length round and round 
some forest tree for twenty or thirty feet, like a huge 
snake ; or another with beautiful leaves and bunches of 
hydrangea-like blossom, flung its long shoots thirty or 



A PLEASURE TPJP TO A SACKED MOUNTAIN. 



269 



forty feet from tree to tree, and swathed great plots of 
jungle into one rich mass. Then again great rocks 
towered above us, and in some places overhung the path, 
so that we had to mind our heads ; and fresh folds of the 
grand mountain faced us at every turn. This word seems 
to express the shape of Parisnath better than any other. 
It is not one mountain peak, but an irregular ridge, falling 
as it were in folds to the plain, so that we had to double 
and wind up the mountain paths, never facing the same way 
for many minutes together. It is difficult to understand 
how such a road could ever be surveyed. 

Alas, before we had gone a quarter of the way the 
rain set in again, not fiercely, but in a heavy penetrating 
drizzle. An umbrella soon did more harm than s'ood, bv 
dripping into pools that penetrated even so-called water- 
proof ; but eventually the rain cleared off, and we per- 
formed the latter part of the journey in comparative 
comfort. Xow and then we caught sight of the bunga- 
low, sometimes apparently just above our heads, and 
sometimes in quite a different direction \ and at last we 
could even see our friends out on the terrace watching 
for us, and were right thankful to leave our cramping 
conveyances and meet a hearty welcome. 

Inside the pretty little bungalow a blazing fire awaited 
us, and was a very cheering sight ; and after a change of 
dress and a welcome cup of tea, we sat round the fire and 
talked till the late dinner was announced. We had been 
just three hours coming the six miles up the hill, and for 
carrying us the bearers were satisfied with sixpence each, 
while those who conveyed our baggage only charged us 
threepence. 



270 



V 

PICNIC LIFE ON PAEISNATH. 

The party we had come to join consisted entirely of ladies 
and gentlemen engaged in missionary work, who had 
escaped, like us, for a brief holiday from the sultry atmo- 
sphere of the plains. One, no less distinguished for his 
extensive travels and literary researches than for his 
steady advocacy of native rights, and his resolute cham- 
pionship of the oppressed, had spent many years in 
acquainting himself with the peasant population of Bengal, 
and was now preparing an important work for educational 
use amongst them ; another had brought to this secluded 
height arrears of correspondence and business papers 
that it was hopeless to attempt amid the incessant 
interruptions of Calcutta public life ; and a third, the 
youngest member of the party, had been lately sent out 
on a special mission to educated Hindoos. The ladies 
had their own various studies and employments for the 
mid-day hours ; and morning and evening united us all in 
extensive mountain rambles, 

As before stated, the furniture of the pretty but some- 
what dilapidated abode was of the coarsest and scantiest 
description ; the only article in our bed-room being a 
bedstead, and in the bath-room an old tin footpan and 
some native chatties. Our sleeping accommodation 
would hardly have satisfied a Sybarite, for we had neither 



PICNIC LIFE OX PAEISNATH. 



271 



bed nor inattrass, and the wooden bars of the bedstead 
made themselves painfully felt through the quilts and 
blankets which were all we had to interpose : but we 
were too weary not to rest and be thankful ; and we woke 
the next morning, fully prepared to enjoy our mountain 
life, despite its eccentric surroundings. Our friends were 
already up and out, before we had overcome the difficulties 
of bathing and dressing under such novel circumstances; 
but it was not long after six when we started to follow 
theni, fortified for the walk by a cup of tea and a biscuit. 

The only places where walking was possible were the 
narrow zigzag paths up and down and round the various 
peaks of the mountain. These were very rough, not only 
with imbedded and protruding rock, but with smaller 
fragments rolled down by the rains, and we could 
only walk in single file. Still, the surpassing beauty of 
the scenery made up for all. Everywhere long, wavy 
ridges, clothed with trees and jungle, sloped down to the 
plain, which lay before us in distant panorama, the main 
road a straight line, and the two rivers Damooda and 
Jamuna, two wider streaks of frequent curve, doubling 
upon themselves in flashing brightness. The heights of 
Hazareebagh were visible in the distance, and many 
isolated hills rose at intervals from the plain, but the 
nearer beauties of Parisnath soon riveted all our admira- 
tion. Abrupt rocky peaks, uprearing against the sky, 
bare precipices, winding gorges, and steep descents 
clothed with long grass, ferns, and trees, and rich 
masses of creepers, met the eye in every direction ; while 
the pure mountain air seemed to infuse new life at every 
breath. Birds were singing just as in an English wood, 
and nothing could surpass the vivid o-reen of the foliage, 
which in the distance looked like soft bright moss, but 
nearer opened into jungle trees. 

This mountain is the sacred place of the Jains, a 



272 



UPLAND. 



peculiar Bhoodhist sect, who number many thousands. 
They believe that communion with the Deity is unattain- 
able by ordinary men ; and that only twenty-four favoured 
saints have ever been admitted to this incommunicable 
blessing. These twenty -four, of whom Parisnath, " Lord 
of the World/'' was the chief, are all believed to have 
ascended to heaven from this mountain, and there are 
twenty-four shrines scattered on its various peaks, mark- 
ing the spots where their feet are believed to have last 
rested. Some of these are of white marble, the slabs 
which form their sides exquisitely perforated in a sort of 
diaper pattern, others of common stone, but all of the 
same general shape, and approached by several steps. 
They are not above six or seven feet high, and one has to 
kneel to see the inside, which is empty, and exactly alike in 
all. The floor is a flat slab of stone or marble, with an in- 
scription and a pair of footprints sculptured upon it — the 
latter slightly raised, and intended to mark the spot 
whence the saint ascended. 

It was to one of these, on the top of a high peak, that 
we wended our laborious way, having caught glimpses of 
our companions from below. When we did reach the 
summit, the prospect was most glorious, but language 
would fail to give any impression of it. We were about 
5,000 feet above the sea level, and more than 3,000 above 
the plain immediately around ; and the top of the peak 
where we stood was so small that it made one giddy to 
look down, even while leaning on the ledge of the shrine. 
Two Hindoo boys of twelve or fourteen were squatting 
on the steps with a little iron incense pot, and a vessel 
containing powdered sandalwood. With the former they 
had been fumigating the shrine, and with the latter, 
mixed with water, they had painted the footprints, by 
putting a round dot like a yellow wafer on each toe, and 
other marks on the sole and heel. It was their business 



PICNIC LIFE ON PARISNATH. 



273 



to go round to the shrines,, or to a certain number of them, 
daily to perform this worship. One of the boys, a 
little half-naked fellow, was a Brahmin, and received 
seven rupees a month for his services, while the other, 
being only a lower caste servant, was content with 
three. 

We sat down on the shady side of the peak, and had 
a long talk about missionary prospects with one of the 
gentlemen, while the rest of the party read, worked, or 
sketched. Then, as the sun grew hot, we walked slowly 
back to the bungalow, and by that time were quite ready 
for our second meal of coarse Scotch porridge, served 
with milk and sugar — a novel diet to several of the party, 
but which we all soon learned to relish. Then we had 
prayers, also out in the verandah, and after a short in- 
terval of conversation, and a vain attempt at writing, we 
travellers retired to lie down and make up for lost sleep. 
At twelve came the third meal, a sort of compound of 
breakfast and tiffin, and we all found ourselves ravenously 
hungry, thanks to Parisnath air. I had not cared to eat 
anything for weeks before, but now it seemed as if I 
could not get enough of either food or sleep. Another 
attempt to read failed signally, and we were roused from 
a long nap by the summons to afternoon tea — a light 
repast, preparatory to the evening walk. This led us to 
quite a different point of view, where the rocks formed a 
commanding precipice, as abrupt as some of the Cornish 
cliffs. Here we sat and read in the sweet evening breeze, 
while the song of birds came softly up the valley ; and 
the gentlemen amused themselves by rolling over large 
stones and hearing them pitch and strike again and 
ugain, as they bounded down the hill, till sound was lost 
in distance. Then back again, tired and hungry, to sit 
in the verandah in the moonlight till dinner was an- 
nounced, and thoroughly enjoyed, amid such a cross fire 

IS 



274 



UPLAND. 



of puns and jokes, good, bad, and indifferent, as only 
workers out for a hard-earned holiday would ever think 
of perpetrating. 

One standing jest was the sportsmanship of one of 
the party, who never went out without his rifle, and 
lived in daily disappointed expectation of bagging a 
tiger, or at least a few wild deer. Another fruitful 
source of merriment was found in the deficiencies of our 
equipment ; for besides our own low folding seats there 
were only five chairs in the house, and every one had to 
carry his own from room to room. Even of these some 
wanted a leg, or were so infirm in their lower joints that 
they could be only used with great tenderness and dis- 
cretion; and some of the gentlemen always sat on packing 
cases at table. Our friends had brought a lamp and 
plenty of candles \ but candlesticks were wanting, and 
bottles had to do duty in their stead, while the de- 
ficiencies in the bill of fare were still more serious. Xo 
groceries, no vegetables, no butter, and no bread could 
be procured in that wild region, where the only purchas- 
able articles of food were rice, milk and eggs, wretched 
half-grown chickens, and now and then a kid. Chickens 
we got at the rate of eight for a rupee, and found after- 
wards that we had been unmercifully cheated, the proper 
rate in that district being from eighteen to thirty for the 
same money, We had preserved meats and other 
groceries in ample store, but it was necessary to dis- 
pense with the more perishable articles ; doing without 
butter altogether, and supplying the place of bread with 
coarse chupatties, which every native of Bengal can 
make. 

After dinner we again sat out on the terrace, or 
walked up and down in the moonlight till summoned to 
coffee, the sixth and last meal ; after which we were not 
long in retiring to rest, and thus ending a day of mental 



PICNIC LIFE ON PARI SNATH. 



275 



rest and bodily exercise and refreshment, as thorough as 
could well be imagined. 

The next morning, after a hurried breakfast, we all 
started for a long walk to the Jain temple, which stands 
in a lovely hollow among the hills, with bold peaks 
rising behind, and ridges falling away on each side so 
as to allow in front a broad view of the plains below. 

Near it flowed a little spring, by which a bed of mint 
and a solitary rosebush nourished, like a bit of English 
kitchen garden dropped there by mistake. The temple 
itself stood on a platform, with a paved court in front for 
the worshippers ; on which opened a small verandah, with 
three doors into the temple. We were not allowed to 
enter, but could see it all from the verandah. It was a 
rough, plain, square building, without windows, and its 
only furniture a wooden bench ; but opposite to the door 
were five shell- like niches in the wall, each containing a 
statue, nearly life-size, sitting cross-legged, with folded 
arms. The centre one was of black marble, the other 
four white, all with the same cast of placid ugliness, 
rendered more striking by staring glass eyes, one of 
which was missing from every figure except the central 
one. My bearer informed us gravely that this figure 
was not made by human hands, but that the other 
four were of earthly workmanship ; and certainly they 
none of them did credit to their makers. Some of the 
gentlemen questioned the priest, an intelligent -looking 
Brahmin, with his face covered with yellow religious 
marks, as to how he, a Brahmin, could act as priest to a 
set of heretics like these Jains ? He did not attempt to 
deny that he thought them and their worship altogether 
wrong ; but said, with a shrug and a grimace, " What 
could he do ? a man must get his living/' 

It was now the time for worship, and the rites began. 
A low caste man, with a broad bandage tied over his 



276 



UPLAND. 



nose and mouth, in order that his breath might not 
pollute the idols, carried in the incense and the musical 
instruments, and the priests fumigated the gods, and 
then began their worships in which three or four took 
part. One sang, or rather shouted, another beat a loud 
tom-tom, and one or two clashed cymbals like madmen. 
We stood and listened for some time, but at last we' could 
bear it no longer. The dim light in the temple, the 
incense, the hideous idols, and the awful din had an effect 
that can only be fitly characterized as devilish. It seemed 
as if to stand there longer would stifle us, so we came out 
into the court, and waited till it was over, and while the 
gentlemen tried to extract some information from the 
priests about their religion, of which, however, they ap- 
peared to know very little. In a shrine just above the 
temple are five pairs of sculptured footmarks, apparently 
referring to the apotheosis of the five saints whose images 
are worshipped below. 

By the time we got back we were all very thoroughly 
tired, and sleep usurped most of the intervals between 
our meals that day. Oar evening walk did not extend 
beyond the nearest peak, rather below the level of the 
bungalow, where we sat among the rocks to read and 
sketch. Our little abode made a very pretty subject, 
nestling on its narrow terrace against the bold peak 
behind. 

One of two young officers, who Lad come up on a shoot- 
ing trip, and occupied some of the other rooms, having 
gone down to the plain, the other was invited to join our 
party at dinner. He was a quiet, gentlemanly young man, 
and took little part in the animated conversation at table, 
which ranged over an immense variety of topics — -social, 
political, philanthropic, and amusing. We were all glad to 
o-o to bed, and even a long 1 night's rest scarcely removed 
the effects of the day ; s fatigue. Xo one appeared till nearly 



PICNIC LIFE ON PARI SNATH. 



277 



eight o'clock next morning, and the forenoon was passed 
chiefly in quiet literary work, very pleasant in the un- 
interrupted calm and comparative coolness of our elevated 
abode. There was one great nuisance, however, from 
which Calcutta is exempt — an exceedingly minute crea- 
ture, called from its habits the eye-fly. It never settles 
or bites, but hovers incessantly in front of the eye, tor- 
menting exceedingly by its restless nearness ; and one can 
neither catch it nor drive it away. The ladies were busy 
with their Bengali studies, and interesting questions 
cropped up from time to time between them and the 
gentlemen, so the hours flew by both fast and pleasantly- 
One of the missionaries was working up into practical use 
a large collection of national proverbs gathered during 
many years of extended travel, and I subjoin a few, which 
especially struck me, either by their quaint force or their 
resemblance to our own wise saws. For instance, the 
well-known warning not to look a gift horse in the 
mouth, has as its equivalent in Badaga, one of the Indian 
tongues, " If any one offers you a buffalo, do not ask if 
she gives niilk;'' and the Malayali rendering of a "A 
burnt child dreads the fire/' is identical with the corres- 
ponding French proverb, "A. scalded cat fears cold 
water/' while the Hindi version is very picturesque and 
characteristic — " He whose father was killed by a bear is 
afraid of a black stump/'' 

Again, we say, " If you send an ass on its travels it 
will not come back a horse/' which in Tamil runs, " You 
may decorate an ass, but that will not make it a horse ; " 
and another dialect expresses nearly the same idea by the 
sententious adage, " A donkey may grow, but he will 
never be an elephant." The European proverbs that 
" No man is a hero to his valet de chainbre," and that 
" Familiarity breeds contempt/' are tersely and pic- 
turesquely combined in the Tamil adage, "The temple 



270 



UPLAND. 



cat does not fear the idol." The Malayaiis reprove a 
boaster who glories over the unfortunate with the pithy 
remark^ " Any one can leap a fallen tree ;" and their 
proverb^ " Eunning up and down the boat does not 
bring one sooner to land," is a keen rebuke to those who 
chafe and fret under circumstances of forced inaction ; 
while the sacred warning, not to cast pearls before swine 
is aptly paraphrased by the question, "What is the use 
of reading the Vedas to a wild buffalo ? " 

A few more Tamil sayings seem well worthy of notice. 
" The tears of the oppressed are sharp swords," reads 
like a sentence from the proverbs of Solomon * and 
" The flower out of reach is dedicated to God," is surely 
a most graceful statement of the futility of day dreams of 
service and sacrifice in the pathless future. " The ant, 
measured by its own hand is eight spans long," ex- 
presses, with superior elegance and force, the gist of more 
than one English proverb ; and " A black cow may give 
white milk," is an adage admirable for terseness and 
point, even if doubtful in morality. 

There is much shrewdness in the Servian proverbs, 
" Speak the truth, but come away quickly after," and 
" When an old dog barks, then see what the matter is " ; 
and volumes of truth and beauty are summed up in the 
simple saying, "The sun goes over unclean places but is 
not defiled." Of how many bright and holy lives spent 
in labour among vice and misery, might this proverb be 
taken as the fittest motto ! 

Russian proverbs present a remarkable combination 
of sound common sense, deep religious feeling, and pithy, 
almost coarse expression. A few taken almost at ran- 
dom will illustrate all three. " Measure your cloth ten 
times, for you can only cut it once." " A fool can cast a 
stone into the sea, but a hundred wise men cannot get it 
out." " If you knew where you would fall, you could 



PICNIC LIFE ON PAEISNATH. 



279 



put down straw." " Pray to God, but row towards 
shore/'' "With God go over the sea; without God 
cross not the threshold." " A mother's prayer saves 
from the depths of the sea." " Fear not the rich man's 
frowns, fear the beggar's tears." " Love me when I am 
black, when I am white every one will love me." "We 
cannot go to church for the mud, but we may get to the 
tavern." " Fleas do not bite each other." " No need 
to plant fools, they grow of themselves." "Ask a pig to 
dinner, and she will put her feet on the table ." 

After early tea we started as usual for a walk, but it 
is vain to attempt a description of all these lovely rambles. 
One most delightful accompaniment of them was the 
singing of the birds in the depths of the wood, which was 
often like a concert of thrushes on an early June morning 
in England. Once we came suddenly upon a solitary 
Christian tomb, on a steep hillside above the soldiers' 
barracks, and I copied the brief inscription, which ran as 
follows : — ■ 

Sunk 

TO THE MEMORY OE 

j/* j£ j/* 

VE" TT w TP TP 

Assistant Surgeon, 23rd Regiment, 

WHO HIED 

On the 18th August, 1865, 
Aged 23 Tears and 3 Months. 
erected by 
The Oeficers, Non-Commissioned Opeicers, 
and men of the 
Parisnath Sanitarium. 

" Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord." — Rev. xiv. 13. 

There was something inexpressibly touching in the 
thought of this poor young fellow, probably the darling 
of some English home, lying here alone, thousands of 



280 



UPLAND. 



miles from all his kin; and unspeakable grandeur and 
consolation in the closing words. 

There are great numbers of deer of various species in 
these hills, as well as tigers, baboons, and tiger cats, but 
they all keep out of the way in the daytime ; though he 
would be a bold man who would venture down hill after 
dark. We once saw a large baboon quite near, and 
often heard their cry : and one nio\ht a ti^er cat carried 
off some of the young officers' stock of fowls, and our 
larder was also robbed of the remains of a kid which had 
only appeared that day at dinner — rather a serious 
loss, considering the difficulty of procuring provisions. 
Another time, after a night of rain we found the tracks 
of a large leopard round the bungalow, after which, I 
must confess that I felt some interest in the security of 
our fastenings. 

The next day was extremely sultry, and as the after- 
noon wore on, the heat grew intolerable, and there was 
every sign of an approaching storm. We could hear the 
distant thunder echoing among the far-off hills and valleys, 
and see the clouds gathering and coming down in rain 
miles away. Presently a white cloud drifted up the 
gorge, and a sharp shower began and lasted for some 
time, cooling the air to a wonderful degree. It had 
passed off, and we were sauntering up and down the 
terrace, enjoying the fresher air, and wondering whether 
it would be safe to start off for a walk, when the chow- 
kedar in charge of the place came hurriedly to tell us 
that there was a " tuphan " (typhoon or hurricane) com- 
ing up, and that he must close the house. In a very 
few minutes his prediction was verified, and I only wish 
I could convey any idea of the spectacle presented to us. 
One of the party, who had been in India more than 
twenty years, frankly confessed that he had never wit- 
nessed anything so magnificent. 



PICNIC LIFE ON PARISNATH. 



281 



In order at all to realize the scene, the reader must 
understand that the little terrace on which the house is 
situated projects at an abrupt angle from the side of one 
of the mountain peaks, one edge looking north, and the 
other east. Immediately opposite the angle, and only 
separated from us by a narrow valley, rose another ridge, 
dividing our prospect, as with a wall, into two distinct 
halves, a broad expanse of distant plain lying to the 
right, and a narrower stretch to the left, both running 
up towards us into steep wooded gorges between the 
folds of the great rocky hill. Up these two plains the 
storm was now marching like an embattled host to sur- 
round us, a dense brown cloud above, and rolls of white 
vapour below moving steadily on like a slow charge of 
cavalry. Then the chill wind made itself felt as it swept 
with gathering velocity up the narrow gorges, and in a 
few seconds everything was blotted out from view. 
Plain, hills, and clouds were gone, and we were in a sea 
of thick brown vapour that cut off everything beyond 
the brink of the little terrace ; while the thunder roared 
below us, and the lightning flashed, and the wind 
how T led round, till we had literally to cling to the pillars 
of 'the verandah and dart in as best we could, through 
the one door left open for us, which was instantly bolted 
and secured by a strong iron bar. It was almost dark, 
and we could only sit still or walk up and down the 
empty rooms, scarcely able to hear each other's voices 
above the roar of the elements. The storm swept clear 
round the house, attacking every side in turn, the back 
only being screened by the peak behind. Suddenly 
there was a tremendous crash, as the large passage door, 
half glass, was burst in by the wind, the heavy iron bar 
which closed it breaking into three pieces. The clatter 
of glass and iron was very startling, and the walls rocked 
perceptibly as we leaned against them. But the Lord 



282 



UPLAND. 



on high is mightier than even these, His great voices of 
storm and tempest ; and though the thunder and rain 
and wind continued most of the night, we laid us down 
and slept in safety. 

It was too wet along the hill paths for a morning 
walk next day, so we reserved ourselves for the after- 
noon, and then took an unusually long one to the highest 
peak at the other extremity of the range, The whole 
party turned out together, even little Eddie being carried 
by a coolie, and my bearer bringing up the rear ; so that 
winding in Indian file along the mountain paths, we 
made quite a long procession. When we reached the 
point immediately below the last ascent, we sat down 
round its little shrine to rest and admire the prospect. 
The temple before described lay at our feet, divided from 
us by a steep descent clothed with trees, and looking like 
a little model that might stand upon the table ; and yet 
again very far below, stretched the broad expanse of 
jungle bordering the plains. On every side rose craggy 
heights, clothed almost to the peak with trees and long 
jungly grass; and from this spot we could see twenty-two 
out of the twenty-four shrines with which the Jains have 
consecrated these hills. They profess to hold them in 
perpetual possession under a charter of the great em- 
peror Akbar • and one reason why Government hesitates 
to sell the now useless bungalows, or to give grants of 
land up here, is the fear of coming into collision with 
their fanaticism. At certain times in the year thousands 
of pilgrims come from long distances and visit these 
shrines in succession, doing pooja and making offerings. 
One feature in their religion is their peculiar abhorrence 
of taking animal life. Some of the strictest of them 
always wear a cloth tied over mouth and nostrils, for fear 
that some small fly or other insect might be drawn in 
and perish. 



PICNIC LIFE ON PARISNATH. 



283 



Having rested awhile, we descended from our eleva- 
tion, and mounted the highest and certainly the steepest 
of all. Eddie was left behind with his coolie and my 
bearer ; who though usually ready to go anywhere, 
apparently saw no reason for perilling his neck or limbs 
after the example of the padres and mem sahibs. One of 
the gentlemen rather put us on our mettle by declaring 
that ladies could not do it ; and I began to doubt the 
steadiness of my head before we had gone very far. 
However, by resolutely looking neither behind nor side- 
ways, but only at the rocks immediately in front, we all 
got safely up. It was a very perpendicular ascent, and 
we had to use hands as well as feet all the way ; but the 
projecting rocks w T ere a great help, and in some places 
masonry had been built out to make the climb easier. 
The chief danger was that of stepping on an insecure 
stone, for a sprained ancle would have been serious here. 
The top once gained, the prospect was magnificent in- 
deed, bringing at once to mind the words of Heber : — - 

" God ! O Good beyond compare ! 
If thus Thy meaner works are fair, 
If thus Thy glories gild the span 
Of ruined earth and sinful man, 
How glorious must the mansions be 
Where Thy redeemed shall dwell with Thee !" 

We sat till the sun had set, and then, with little 
difficulty accomplished our descent, catching by the way 
some curious grasshoppers, with underwings coloured 
like those of a butterfly. It was a lovely moonlight 
evening, and before we reached home we had the ques- 
tionable gratification of hearing the roar of a tiger in the 
jungle. 

The next day was Trinity Sunday, and as I stepped 
out into the little verandah, I was greeted by a vision of 
surpassing glory. No ideal of poet or painter could 



284 



UPLAND. 



surpass the loveliness of the clouds on which I looked 
down from the edge of the terrace, so close that a single 
step would have plunged nie into their pure depths. 
They filled the valleys with a perfect sea of billowy light, 
just the soft, white cumuli one often sees on the horizon, 
but here outspread below in rolling waves of glory ; the 
sun shining down upon them, and tinting them with 
every hue of radiant, changeful beauty, and the green 
mountains standing out like islands from their foam-like 
depths. 

Surely our noble hymn for the day was never said or 
sung in more appropriate scenes, than when its notes 
rose above this sea of almost celestial glory — 

<k Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord G-od Almighty, 

All Thy works shall praise Thy name in earth, and sky, and sea ; 
Only thou art holy, there is none beside Thee 
Perfect in Power, in Love, and Parity ! " 

We spent the morning very happily, the beautiful 
Church Service bringing us into near communion with 
fellow- worshippers in all parts of the world, as well as in 
our own distant land. 

The two young officers, who were going down in the 
evening, came in after breakfast to say good-bye. Both 
were mere lads, full of life and spirit, and it was strange 
to think that each, within two days, had narrowly escaped 
a sudden and terrible death. One, while below, had 
slept in an open verandah, with a parrot's cage upon a 
table close beside him; and a venomous snake had got 
into the cage and gorged the parrot in the night, and 
then, being too big to pass through the bars again, was 
found and killed in the morning. The other had fallen 
over a precipice with his loaded rifle in his hand, which 
had gone off and been broken in the fall, the bullet 
whistling past him ; and yet he had escaped with only a 
few trifling bruises. 



PICNIC LIFE ON PARISNATH. 



285 



We went out a little in the afternoon, but had to turn 
back, alarmed at the threatening clouds, and were only 
just in time to see the advance of another u tuphan," not 
so violent as the one on Friday, but still a tremendous 
burst of wind, and rain, and thunder. It cleared off for 
a while at dinner, and we walked on the terrace, and sat 
in the verandah till late, singing hymns; but it rose again 
in the night, and roared, and howled round the house, 
shaking doors and windows, till it rendered sleep all but 
impossible. 

The next afternoon had been fixed for our friends' 
departure, and the morning was far too blustering for the 
farewell walk which they had meditated • so we sat quietly 
and read in the verandah, for the wind outside was 
almost enough to take a strong man off his legs. We 
had a sort of breakfast dinner at twelve, and then the 
packing began. Our friends had brought up, not only 
their own bedding and ample stores, which were now 
wellnigh exhausted, but plates, dishes, etc., etc., and 
even cooking utensils, so the packing was no small 
matter. We could not travel with them, for the reason 
given before ; but they left us some cooked provisions, 
and a couple of plates and dishes, and cups and saucers, 
together with a tea-kettle and tea-pot. So, as we had 
knives and silver, and plenty of tea, and biscuit, and 
candles, we were fairly provided for the couple of days 
that we should have to stay behind. They offered to 
leave us their cook, but we preferred managing for our- 
selves; as another outsider on our carriage would only have 
prolonged the miseries of the dawk journey. As soon as 
their things were cleared out of the room which the ladies 
had occupied, we moved in, because it opened into the 
smaller sitting-room, and we could then shut the door of 
communication with the rest of the house, and have the 
two apartments snugly to ourselves. Moreover, they left 



286 



UPLAND. 



us a brass chillumchee — a sort of flat washing basin, which 
would enable us henceforth to perform our ablutions in a 
civilized manner. 

They were to start at three, and quite an army of 
coolies came up early in the morning, sixteen for the two 
dandies, and about twenty for the baggage. They lay 
about the verandahs and slept most of the day, making 
the atmosphere in their neighbourhood anything but 
agreeable ; for, owing to the scarcity of water, the hill 
people are very filthy. In the course of the day, a 
female pilgrim from Guzerat came up to the house to 
speak to the padre. She was a decidedly unprepossess- 
ing-looking individual, habited in crimson from head to 
foot, and very loud and voluble. The day before, three 
or four Jain priests had come to see the " burra padre " 
(great clergyman) ; so he had an opportunity of doing a 
little missionary work even out here. 

About half-past one clouds began to appear in the 
distance, and it soon became evident that we must expect 
another te tuphan." The experience of the previous days 
was exactly repeated, and we had about three hours of 
terrific thunder, rain, and wind, greatly to the dismay of 
the travellers. They were obliged to go that evening, 
because their dawk was laid, the coolies who were to 
draw them waiting at every stage, so we watched the 
progress of the storm with great anxiety. At last, about 
five o' clock, all was ready. The baggage had been dis- 
tributed among the coolies with infinite noise and gesti- 
culation • the ladies got into their dandies, the gentlemen 
prepared to walk, farewells were said, and we watched 
the long procession winding down the mountain paths, 
till it looked like a file of ants ; and then went in and 
made our arrangements for the night. Our party was 
now reduced to our two selves and my bearer, the chow- 
kedar in charge, and the hill people who fetched water 



PICNIC LIFE ON PARISH AT ET. 



287 



and performed a few other servile offices about the house. 
It was strange for us to sit down to our solitary tea, after 
the merry party of the last nine days, and stranger still 
to have to reach out our provisions, put them away, and 
wash up our plates and cups for ourselves. It was then 
that I began to realize the extent of my mistake in 
bringing a bearer instead of a table servant, for the 
utmost he could do was to light a fire and supply hot 
water; and then stand by, looking very foolish and em- 
barrassed while his mistress did the work. I believe he 
would have fought for me if necessary, and he never 
objected to any amount of fatigue; but touching our 
plates and dishes was a very different thing. Moreover, 
there was nothing to wash up in but the chillumchee above 
mentioned; and the dilemma was rather amusing, though 
we had quite enough of it before our time expired. 

The comfort of our breakfast was further diminished 
by the discovery that there was no sugar, and the milk 
was too sour to be brought to table : but we had a plea- 
sant morning, lunching at twelve and dining at three ; 
for though the necessity of washing up after a meal is 
some drawback to its enjoyment, the calls of hunger in 
that mountain region were not to be gainsayed. We 
had a cup of tea at five, and then went for a ramble up 
the peak behind the bungalow. The air was delightfully 
fresh ; indeed it blew so strongly round the heights as to 
necessitate great caution as we crept round the narrow 
ledges, holding by the wall of rock. It is difficult to 
give any idea of the boldness of the crags which crest 
some of these peaks. Many of the upright blocks of 
stone are from twelve to twenty feet in height, and of 
the most abrupt and eccentric form. I felt quite the old 
exhilaration of spirits that reminded me of Malvern days, 
and only longed for the friend whose society had lent to 
those rambles their special charm. We stayed till the moon 



288 



UPLAND. 



rose, and then picked our way carefully down, under 
Bowhanie's vigilant escort. 

The wind rose furiously in the night, and there was 
another wild "tuphan" next day, so we began to hope 
that the rains had set in exceptionally early, and that we 
should find the plains cooler on our return. Our last 
night on the hills was really so cold as to hinder our 
sleeping, and we felt little disposed to rise early and 
prepare for our departure. The coolies had been waiting 
since the previous evening, and by the time our packing 
was done, and the hill servants paid, it was nearly nine 
o'clock. We got into our dandies very reluctantly, and 
began the descent, gazing with lingering eyes at the 
wooded heights to which we were bidding a long fare- 
well. The journey down was accomplished in about two 
hours, without difficulty or inconvenience, except from 
the intense heat, which soon began to make itself felt ; 
and we found ourselves again at the wretched little 
bungalow where we had passed so many hours before. 
Our dawk was ordered for three, but it had been neces- 
sary to come down early to avoid the full power of the 
sun, and the hours of waiting were diversified by another 
furious hurricane, wind, rain, thunder, and the largest 
hailstones I ever saw. We started in a temporary lull, 
but there was the greatest difficulty in getting the horse 
to draw us over the bit of soft ground in front of the 
bungalow. I rather pitied him at first, for it was really 
heavy work, but he was just as bad on the hard road, 
standing still, kicking, trying to roll us over, then going 
a few paces, and repeating the same round of performances, 
in spite of the utmost exertions of the driver, Bowhanie, 
and the syce. At last he came to an obstinate pause, on 
such a slope that the carriage would roll back, in spite of 
stones behind the wheels, and we got out and walked up 
the hill, notwithstanding the wet ; preferring damp feet to 



PICNIC LIFE ON PARISNATH. 



289 



tile risk of broken limbs. Almost every fresh horse 
favoured us with similar performances, so we walked at 
intervals till night fall, when Bowhanie again interposed 
with convincing arguments about the wild beasts. So 
we yielded, and thenceforth bore the vagaries of the 
successive steeds as best we might. 

We stopped to try and get tea at Tope Chauncy, but 
there was no fire lighted, and the man was so long 
making ready that we dared not wait, feeling that we 
must allow a wide margin for possible delays with the 
horses, as it would not do to miss the one train of the 
day. So we were soon on the road again, and the tedious 
night journey began. 

Except for the heat it would have been very pleasant, 
for the moonlight was almost as clear as day, and the 
scenery of the first part of the journey very beautiful ; 
but the heat was stifling, and of course we felt it all the 
more intensely after the delightful atmosphere we had 
left. 

It was about four in the morning when we reached 
the Barrakur river, and a number of coolies immediately 
surrounded us, and unharnessing the horse, proceeded to 
push our carriage along a very insecure tramway into a 
large ferry boat. As this was something quite unex- 
pected, we required an explanation, and found that the 
rains in the hills had swelled the river so suddenly as to 
carry away the bridge. Upon the whole it was a plea- 
sant change, for we got out of the gharry in the ferry 
boat, and sat enjoying the moonlight on the water. 
Then they unshipped us again, and, with tremendous 
exertion, pushed the carriage up a steep sandy bank. 
For all this, including a vast amount of noise, the charge 
was eight annas (a shilling) between them. 

We were now not far from the Barrakur Station, 
where we unloaded, undressed and bathed, and then, 

19 



200 



UPLAND. 



rather refreshed, but still very weary, spread our pillows 
and bundles on the floor of the waiting-room, and tried 
to get a nap before the train started. 

We were not off till half-past six, before which we 
managed to get hot water for a cup of tea, to help us 
through the miseries of the day. But the rest of the 
return journey was simply wretched. The heat was 
inconceivable, literally soaking everything we wore ; and 
the only refreshment to be had, except at one station, 
where we got some plantains, was water of very question- 
able quality. 

Utterly worn down at last, we spread some pillows on 
the seat, and slept the sleep of sheer exhaustion; but 
the longest day wears to a close, and at last we reached 
Howrah. Then came the rush to the ferry steamer, the 
loading our possessions on a gharry on the other side, 
and the slow drive home, which we reached with very 
weary bodies and very thankful hearts. 

So ended my only visit to any of the northern hills ; 
for Darjeeling and Simla, the two usual places of resort, 
were both too far away and too expensive to suit my 
engagements or my means. I never even saw the snowy 
range of the Himalayas ; but their beauties are compara- 
tively well known; while few, even among old residents 
in Calcutta, have any idea of the delightful atmosphere and 
scenery that lie so much nearer to them at Parisnath. I 
have heard since that the bungalow is fast falling to 
decay, so there is now no shelter for an English visitor 
in the wild recesses of the sacred mountain; but its 
memory will be " a joy for ever/' among the pleasant 
party whose adventures I have briefly chronicled. 



291 



©berlantr gome %aut* 



i 

CALCUTTA TO SUEZ. 

At last, after some years of varied experience in India, 
all was settled for my return; and the hour so long 
dreamed of by day and night arrived. At 8.30 a.m., 
January 18th, 187 — , I went on board, after many a sad 
farewell. A large party of friends had assembled to see me 
off; and bright as was the homeward prospect, it was not 
without many regrets that I watched the crowd of familiar 
faces grow dim in the distance as the ship swung round. 
Bishop's College claimed a last look for the sake of many 
pleasant memories, as it stood out bright and clear under 
the morning sunshine; and when all was out of sight, 
except the flat banks of the Hooghly, I began to realize, 
as I had never done before, the parting of many ties that 
had wound themselves very closely round me. 

Happily, I had introductions to a large family party 
on board; and their frank kindness saved me from the 
sense of loneliness which is one of the most trying parts 
of a long voyage among strangers. 

Contrary to expectation, we just missed getting over 
the bar the first day, and had to lie at anchor till morn- 
ing. The pilot left us at the Sandheads about noon, and 
the ship stopped for some time, and lay heaving on 



292 



OVERLAID HOME AGAIX. 



the gleaming sea to the extreme discomposure of many of 
the passengers. After dinner, however, things were 
better; and deck croquet was introduced, an4 kept up 
with spirit until dusk, when it gave place to the usual 
round of promenading on deck, and chess and card- 
playing below. 

The next day was tolerable, but the fourth was one of 
utter misery, all the ladies and most of the children ill ■ 
and we were heartily rejoiced to cast anchor at Madras 
before breakfast the next morning. It was terribly hot, 
but otherwise the absence of motion was a great relief ; 
and as I knew quite enough of this delightful town, I with- 
stood all invitations to go ashore. The usual army of 
petty traders came on board with embroidered muslins 
and tussa silks, ices, baskets, shells, sea-horses, and other 
curiosities ; besides snake-charmers and jugglers, who 
performed for the benefit of the children : but these have 
been already mentioned in the outward voyage. 

After dinner, the ship was dressed with flags in 
honour of the nabob of Arcot, who was coming on board 
with some of his wives, to go with us to Suez on their way 
to Mecca. There was also a grand ceremonial on shore 
at his departure ; and the captain was officially requested 
to arrange that the three ladies might be embarked in 
their palankeens secure from prying eyes. Accordingly 
the cargo gangway was opened, and most of the pas- 
sengers ranged themselves along the side of the ship to 
witness the novel spectacle. 

First came one of the droll little catamarans for which 
Madras is famous, consisting simply of three narrow logs 
of wood tied together with cocoa-nut rope. Upon this 
rude raft, about eighteen inches wide, a single man kneels 
and paddles along, with his legs doubled under him. 
Generally he wears a sort of fool's cap of oilskin, in 
which he carries letters or parcels, it being the only dry 



CALCUTTA TO SUEZ. 



293 



place about him ; and sometimes the raft is larger and 
holds two. On this occasion, however, it was a small 
catamaran which acted as outrider, carrying a tiny flag 
stuck up in front. Next came a large surf boat with 
about fifteen boatmen, containing a palankeen shut up. 
and closely covered with crimson drapery. A stout rope 
was tied round it, and into this the hook used in hoisting 
cargo was inserted; and so the luckless lady within was 
swung into mid air, and got on board, where she was 
carried, still shut up, to her cabin. Another followed, 
and then another ; and those who know what the swell is 
in Madras roads may imagine what must have been the 
sensations of these unfortunate women, enduring it in 
stifling: darkness, with the aggravation of the final swing- 
ing in mid air. 

A host of attendants scrambled on board after the 
palankeens ; then came the port boat, with two English 
officials and the nabob himself, accompanied by some ot 
his relations, and a number of gaily dressed followers. 
He was helped out, and they swarmed up the gangway 
ladder after him, clinging and climbing like so many 
monkeys. Indeed, it was no easy matter in the swell to 
effect the transit from boat to ship. 

The nabob was a stout, coarse -looking man, dressed 
in a red fez, wide sea-green silk trousers, and a muslin 
dress with a short- waisted plaited bodice, such as our 
grandmothers used to wear • the full skirt reaching to his 
feet, which were encased in peaked yellow slippers. 
Two others were similarly attired, but a third, who spoke 
English, and said he was a relation of the nabob, took 
pains to point out our distinguished fellow traveller and 
introduce him to us. 

He soon went down to look at the accommodation 
provided for his family, and then came back to say fare- 
well to those of his suite who were about to return on 



294 



YE ELAND H03JE AGAIN. 



shore. Their parting salutation was very droll. Each 
man, in turn, came to him as he stood on deck, and bent 
horizontally till his head touched the nabob's waist ; then 
the latter leaned over him in what was supposed to be 
an attitude of benediction, but the effect was decidedly 
ludicrous. When the leave-taking was over, the prince 
took his seat on the quarter-deck, and we entered 
into conversation with him. He talked English very 
fairly, and seemed pleased to do so, and to accept our 
offer to visit the ladies when they were prepared to 
see us. The rest of the evening was spent as usual, 
and we had a quiet night in the harbour, waiting for the 
mails. 

Next day was Sunday, but the morning was a very 
bustling one, owing to the preparations for starting, the 
shipping of the mails, and the departure of such of the 
prince's attendants as were not required to accompany 
him further. Some performed the same reverence as 
their companions had done the previous evening, others 
stooped to kiss his feet, and some he embraced, literally 
falling on their necks and kissing them. At last, 
however, the leave-taking was over; and as soon as 
we were off, the bell rang for service, which was read 
by one of the officers, as we had no clergyman on 
board. 

Later in the day I went with two other ladies to see 
the Mahometan princesses, but it was not a satisfactory 
visit. I trusted to my companions' knowledge of Hin- 
dostani, but soon found that they knew little more than 
myself ; and there was reason to fear that, after all, our 
visit might be attributed rather to idle curiosity than to 
any real interest or kindliness. The principal begum 
sat on the side of her berth, looking sick and miserable ; 
a second was fast asleep in another berth, and there were 
one or two attendants also in the cabin, and about the 



CALCUTTA TO SUEZ. 



295 



door, so we were decidedly de trop. The chief lady was 
an interesting-looking woman, with fine melancholy eyes, 
not young, and evidently anything but comfortable in her 
first day on the " black water/'' For us, upon the whole, 
ir> was far more Sabbatical than might have been 
anticipated from the morning's bustle and the general 
tone of the society on board, which included some noisy 
and disagreeable individuals. 

After one more day of general sea-sickness and dis- 
comfort, the shores of Ceylon became visible early on 
Tuesday morning; and we anchored, about 10 a.m., in the 
beautiful but unsafe harbour of Galle. Here we were to 
remain about thirty hours, and I intended going ashore 
in the course of the day with some of my friends, but a 
heavy squall of rain came on just as they were starting ; 
and this, together with the subsequent heat and glare 
ashore, and the comparative coolness and shade of the 
ship, decided me to postpone my expedition to Buonavist a 
till early on the morrow. The day was idly spent in 
listening to the bargaining of others with the tortoise- 
shell and jewel merchants who came on board ; for they 
asked such exorbitant prices, and required so much beat- 
ing down, that I really had not the energy to cope with 
them. 

None of the ladies felt disposed to accompany me next 
morning in the long drive to the orphanage which I had 
visited on my outward route ; so I started alone, about half- 
past seven, in a boat which the chief officer kindly secured 
for me. There are two kinds of boat in use here — one the 
ordinary shape, large enough for several passengers, and 
the other a most peculiar craft, long and narrow, and 
standing fully two feet out of the water, with perpendicular 
sides just wide enough for one's legs, the seats projecting 
beyond. It looks a most " tippy 97 structure, but two 
curved bamboos project from the top on one side, and 



296 



OVE&LANI) HOME AGAIN. 



support a log of wood which lies on the water, and so 
balances this extraordinary vessel as to secure it against 
the possibility of upset. 

The boat I started in was an ordinary wide one, and 
the owner was very unwilling to set off with a single 
passenger. The officer's orders were, however, peremp- 
tory j and I was particularly enjoined not to give the 
boatman more than sixpence, his legitimate fare. Scarcely 
had we started, however, when he began, in very im- 
perfect English, to demand exorbitant payment — two, 
four, six rupees, etc. I answered, once or twice, that I 
should give what was right ; and then, as he reiterated 
his demands with increasing boldness, said, " Chup/' 
and took no further notice till we got to the landing 
place. When I was safely on shore I gave him the six- 
pence, which he immediately tossed into the sea with a 
gesture of the utmost insolence ; and followed me, de- 
manding more. I told him I should not give another pice, 
and called a carriage, but the impudent fellow instantly 
jumped on the back seat, and continued his demand as 
the carriage rolled along. 

I was determined not to be frightened into yielding; 
so on passing a native policeman, I stopped the carriage, 
and asked him to interfere ; explaining the case in the 
best Hindostani I could muster. He detained the man 
while the carriage drove on ; but he soon managed to over- 
take it, and sprang up behind again, with a most vindictive 
expression of countenance. I really began to fear I 
should never get rid of him ; but at last we drove under 
an archway, where, to my great joy, there stood an 
English sentry or policeman on guard. When he heard 
the case/ he explained that as I came in the large boat 
alone, the proper fare was a shilling : so I got him to 
give me change, and bestowed upon my tormentor the 
remaining sixpence, leaving him to the delightful reflec- 



CALCUTTA TO SUEZ. 



297 



tion that he had thrown half his fare away, and had all 
his trouble for nothing. 

The policeman kept him from following farther ; and 
the drive, freed from his haunting presence, was a truly 
delightful one, the fresh morning breeze, the clearness of 
the air, and the lovely scenery being doubly welcome 
after the miseries of the steamer. The Ceylon carriages 
are very pleasant, like a low, light dogcart, with an awn- 
ing over the top, and each has a boy attendant, as well 
as the driver. Mine happened to be a very intelligent 
sprite, and only needed very slight encouragement to 
chatter all the while in very fair English, pointing out 
everything that he thought interesting. He told me, 
among other information, that he w^as a Wesleyan, and 
that most of the people in his village were also Christians. 
The governor, Sir Hercules Robinson, had lately made a 
progress round the island, and pretty arches, made of 
bamboo, and tastefully decorated with young palm leaves, 
were still standing at the entrance of the different roads. 

After a drive of perhaps a couple of miles, I had to 
leave the carriage and walk up the hill, taking the boy as 
guide. No language can describe the series of lovely 
views that opened at every turn of the steep zigzag path. 
The undulations of hill and valley, clothed with the 
richest vegetation, were endless ; and over all shone the 
intense brilliancy of the tropical sun, while the waters of 
the harbour below were of the deepest sapphire blue. On 
we went past the schools, up to the padre's house, where 
the brother of my missionary friend was duly installed ; 
and the mention of my former visit with him procured 
me a cordial welcome from both the clergyman and his 
wife. After a while we had breakfast, and then a long 
and interesting talk over missionary and schoolwork in 
various parts of India. 

At tiffin, I tasted, for the first time, the very perfection 



298 



OVE ELAND HOME AGAIN. 



of curry — curry, refined and idealized into veritable am- 
brosia, chicken and breadfruit, stewed in cocoa-nut milk 
with spices. Afterwards we went over the schools, and 
looked at the lace and embroidery made by the orphan 
girls. About thirty Cingalese children were thus em- 
ployed, all looking clean and happy, and the embroidery 
was beautifully neat. Then we descended the hill, gather- 
ing wild flowers and ferns among thickets of lantana and 
wild rhododendron, the former growing in troublesome 
profusion all over this part of the island. 

We just looked into the boys' school, but did not 
stay; as I was anxious about getting down to the steamer 
in time, and it is always necessary in India to allow a 
large margin for unforeseen delays. Fortunately, nothing 
untoward happened, and I reached the landing place 
safely ; paid off my civil driver and boy (four shillings 
and sixpence for six hours and a half), and embarked in 
one of the strange little outriggers above described. 
There was only just room to sit, but one felt perfectly 
safe, though the little vessel danced up and down upon 
the waves in a rather exciting manner. When I got on 
board people were still driviug their endless bargains for 
tortoise-shell combs, brooches, and chains, and my enor- 
mous bunch of flowers created quite a sensation. Some 
of the tortoise-shell chains were very pretty, of a pure, 
bright amber colour, but for these a high price was 
maintained. After all, we did not start till dinner-time, 
and then a long walk on deck, and some games at chess 
closed a very pleasant day. 

The next was one of unmitigated misery till the late 
dinner, which, as usual, revived most of the invalids. 
The ship had begun to roll in the night, so all the ports 
had to be shut ; but it was pleasant, after sunset, to sit 
in the gangway in the cool breeze, and watch the phos- 
phorescent insects gleaming in the water like fallen stars. 



CALCUTTA TO SUEZ. 



299 



The whole of the next week passed much in the same 
way, varied only by the Sunday muster of the motley 
crew, and by occasional visits to the doctor's cabin, 
where he exhibited some of the phosphorescent animal- 
cute through a capital microscope. One unpleasant 
incident, however, must not be passed over, because it 
is a specimen of conduct only too common among our 
countrymen abroad. 

The poor Mahometan ladies, who, though first-class 
passengers, were close prisoners to their cabins, expressed 
a wish through their husbands to see the general saloon, 
and the captain accordingly made arrangements for them. 
About half-past nine in the morning, when all the gentle- 
men were smoking or walking on deck, he gave orders that 
the passages leading to their cabins, which were all forward, 
should be cleared of men, and that when the ladies had 
entered the saloon, the stewards should guard the doors 
till they retired. Most of the English ladies came down 
to receive them, and were pleased to answer their ques- 
tions ; while it was, of course, a great treat to the poor im- 
prisoned creatures to have a little exercise and a sight so 
novel as the large saloon, with its pretty gilded cornices 
and curtained doorways. But one or two of the gentlemen, 
hearing what was going on, out of sheer mischief and in- 
solence, insisted upon their right to enter the saloon at any 
time, and forced their way in, in spite of the remonstrances 
of the stewards on guard. One contented himself with 
walking through to his wife's cabin, but the other sat 
down and refused to stir. Fortunately the nabob's family 
had retired ; and there was only in the saloon the pretty, 
bright, young wife of a rich Arab merchant and ship 
owner, with her husband, children, and attendants. The 
husband went up to the intruder and politely asked him 
to retire for a few minutes, while his wife, who w^as then 
looking at the ladies' baths, passed out. The Englishman 



300 



OVERLAND HOME AGAIN. 



flatly refused, and blustered loudly in Hindostani and 
English, while the Arab stood entreating him, with 
clasped hands, not to inflict upon him such a dishonour. 
The indignation of the ladies present only added to the 
fellow's dogged rudeness ; and finally the stewardesses 
managed to hold up a long curtain, and screen the exit 
of the Arab lady by a side door. The husband evidently 
felt the insult deeply; and was really grateful for the 
courtesy of the English ladies, who accompanied his wife 
back to her cabin, and admired her children and her 
jewels there. Though so young and pretty she had five 
children, the eldest a slim intelligent-looking boy of 
eight or ten years old. 

This episode occurring in a first-class passenger ship, 
where all the weight of public opinion was against the 
offender, gives one some idea of the lengths to which 
Englishmen may go in secluded districts of India, where 
no such restraint is felt. If native ladies of rank and 
position, travelling as first-class passengers, could not 
leave their cabins under the protection of the captain's 
word, without being subject to what was in their eyes one 
of the grossest insults, there is surely reason to fear that 
deadlier offences still too often disgrace our countrymen 
in remote up-country stations. 

Another day, the nabob, who usually had his meals 
prepared by his own attendants, and served in his cabin, 
came down to dinner, and sat next to me. He seemed 
pleased to be talked to, but ate nothing, except cheese 
and pastry, informing us that it was unlawful for a 
Mussulman to partake of animal food, unless it had been 
slaughtered in the name of God. 

The seventeenth day of the voyage brought us to 
Aden, where we were saluted by great guns from the 
fort. It was curious to watch the smoke curling away 
before the report was heard, and pretty to see the tall 



CALCUTTA TO SUEZ. 



301 



fountains thrown up by the ricochet shot with which thev 
were practising at another battery. Numbers of ring- 
leted Arabs came on deck, even before breakfast ; and 
before the morning was over, they had disposed of scores 
of ostrich feathers, and considerable quantities of the 
pure white coral which is common here. A shoal of 
divers, as usual, crowded round the ship ; and if the 
smallest piece of money was thrown overboard, there was 
an instantaneous plunge of a dozen after it, and a 
moment's confusion of legs and upturned feet at various 
depths in the clear water, terminating in the triumphant 
reappearance of the fortunate diver, and the clamours of 
the whole group for another trial. 

The morning was spent mostly in watching them, and 
in bargaining, and after tiffin I went ashore with some of 
my friends. It was terribly hot the little wav we had 
to walk before we could get a carriage ; and when we did 
secure one, it was an extremely antiquated vehicle, with a 
tilt, and leather curtains to roll up all round. We went, 
of course, to the post-office, and then to the cantonments, 
which are about five miles away. The road skirted the 
shore by the different coal depots, and the sea looked very 
lovely, with its deep blue just broken by a few rockv 
islets and some steamers lying at anchor. On the other 
side of the road, the bare, dark peaks of curiously jagged 
and honey-combed rock rose almost perpendicularly, 
reflecting a scorching heat ; though the breeze blew cool 
and fresh from the sea. Nothing can exceed the arid 
bareness of this terrible place. We did not see a blade 
of grass in a drive of ten miles ; and literally the onlv 
green thing, or trace of vegetation, except at the tanks, 
was wild mignonette, which grew in large tufts here and 
there on the channelled surface of the rocks. 

The road is very good, but a little steep in one or two 
places; and just as we got to the foot of the hill which 



302 



OVEELAND HOME AGAIN. 



leads to tlie cantonments, one of our wheels came to utter 
destruction. The accident might have been serious, for 
it would have been highly dangerous for us to attempt to 
walk in the sun : but fortunately another hack carriage 
was behind ; and the occupant, a Parsee, who truly deserved 
the name of gentleman, gave it up to us, and walked up 
the hill himself. His courtesy, to absolute strangers of an 
alien race, struck us the more by contrast to the English 
insolence described above. The carriage was even smaller 
than our own had been ; so, as soon as we reached the top, 
the gentleman who was with us secured a gallant little 
black donkey, which he bestrode for the rest of the 
excursion, being fortunately provided with a solah hat. 

The entrance to the fortifications is by a strong arched 
gateway across the foot of a narrow pass, cut through 
rock forty feet high. The gorge is fine, and the shade 
delightful ; and on the other side there is an extensive 
view down a steep decline, and over the cantonments to 
the background of wild rocks that shuts them in on every 
side. The cantonments, native and European, form alto- 
gether quite a town ; and beyond them lie the tanks, 
which are very ancient, some say of Koman, and some of 
Arab construction, but lately restored by the English. 
They form a system of reservoirs, paved and lined with 
cement, and the rain, when it falls, is conducted to them 
by low walls, which serve to guide the water down the 
slopes of the cliffs. But at the time of our visit it had 
not rained for more than twelve months, and there was 
not a drop of water in the tanks. Men were drawing it 
from immensely deep wells for the trees and shrubs which 
are planted round the reservoirs, each with a large hollow 
round it to retain the moisture ; and thus cared for, they 
flourish well. 

We sat some time in the shadow of a rock, and then 
drove down again another way, passing through some 



CALCUTTA TO SUEZ. 



303 



long tunnels cut through the surrounding peaks, which 
form the entrance to the artillery position. The whole 
post appears absolutely impregnable, at least to unpro- 
fessional eyes ; and we were well satisfied with our expedi- 
tion, though not sorry to find ourselves again on board. 
The fortress and district of Aden were obtained from the 
local Arab ruler in 1839, partly by force and partly by 
payment ; and the population now exceeds 20,000, much 
of the trade of other Red Sea ports having been trans- 
ferred to it, in consequence of the greater freedom and 
security arising from British protection. 

Four days afterwards we passed the island of Shadwan, 
the scene of the " Carnations " disaster, and saw where 
divers were searching for its remains. The island is a bare 
mass of reddish rock, absolutely destitute of vegetation, 
and, even apart from any danger of marauding Arabs, 
holds out a fearful prospect to the shipwrecked passenger. 



304 



II 

SUEZ AND CAIEO. 

Early in the morning of Feb. 10th we saw land on both 
sides, and anchored at Suez about 8. The water was, 
however, too low to admit of our landing till about two 
o'clock, when the ship was brought up to the main quay 
so that we could walk ashore. The morning was of 
course a time of great bustle and excitement. The 
nabob came out in magnificent style, a wonderful con- 
trast to his every day costume, which consisted of smok- 
ing cap, loose shabby silk trousers, with a shirt worn 
outside, and a woollen knitted jacket overall, bare legs 
and yellow slippers. Now he wore shoes and stockings, 
new silk trousers, a long tunic of pale lavender moire 
antique, delicately embroidered with gold thread, and a 
magnificent shawl turban stiff with gold embroidery. 
As we were waiting on deck, he expressed great admira- 
tion of some showy wool work on which one of my 
friends was employed, and she asked him if his ladies 
ever did anything of that sort. His answer was a con- 
temptuous negative, adding that they knew nothing but 
to eat and sleep. He shook hands with us all at part- 
ing, and gave the captain a handsome shawl in recog- 
nition of his courtesy. 

At last after tiffin we got off, amid such a confusion 
of children and luggage as one seldom sees. We had 



SUEZ AND CAIRO. 



305 



about a hundred yards to walk to the train, and consider- 
able difficulty in stowing ourselves and our goods for the 
short journey which brought us almost to the doors of 
the Suez hotel. 

Meaning to stay the night, I at once engaged a room, 
the coolness and quietude of which were a great comfort. 
The other ladies had to sit in the pretty, but hot, court in 
the midst of ceaseless confusion, or to go up to the 
common sitting-room, which was made almost unen- 
durable by the noise of the children, and the insolent 
bravado of our insufferable fellow-passenger. He had 
taken it into his head to persecute one or two of the 
ladies with most offensive attentions, and if any one took 
no notice of him, he had a stereotyped formula of 
remonstrance after this wise — " Why won't you talk ? 
Why don't you like me ? I am stronger than most men ; 
I have read more and seen more of life, and travelled 
more than most. I have picked up scoriae on the slopes 
of Vesuvius, trod the resurrectionized streets of Pompeii, 
and heard high mass at St. Peter's at Eome. I could 
lick any man in the ship at billiards or at chess, and the 
' Saturday Review ' says that any one who can play well 
at both must be in a sound state of mind and body/' 
and so on, repeated ad nauseam. We were very glad 
when the dinner-bell relieved us of his presence, and 
soon after dinner the preparations for departure com- 
menced. 

I went down to the train with my friends who were 
bound for Brindisi ; my own intention being to proceed 
the next day to Cairo, in order to see something of 
Egypt. We had to wait a long time, pestered by Arab 
orange boys, pipe-sellers, fez merchants, etc., etc., but at 
last the train came up, and we parted with many regrets. 
I went back in the chill of the evening to my lonely 
room, sadly missing the bright companions of the last 

20 



306 



OVERLAND HOME AGAIN. 



few weeks, and spent the rest of the time in writing 
letters to precede me home. 

The train for Cairo started soon after seven the next 
morning, and at the station there was no one who 
could speak an intelligible tongue. I tried English and 
French, and in despair even resorted to Hindostani, alike 
in vain ; but by dint of persistence I got myself and my 
baggage settled at last, in the same carriage with an 
elderly gentleman who had come with us from Ceylon, 
and three Americans who were evidently " doing Egypt *' 
regardless of expense. We sat, without the chance of a 
moment's change, from eight o'clock till nearly two ; and 
the glare of the sandy desert, through which part of our 
route lay, was very trying. The fresh-water canal ran 
by the side of the line for a considerable distance, and 
we could see the great Suez Canal, and the Bitter Lakes, 
with steamers on them at a distance, the water looking 
most intensely blue. Just bordering the fresh water was 
a fringe of vegetation, chiefly tamarisks and reeds; but 
the desert expanse of drifting sand is indescribably 
dreary after the first novelty is over. The only living 
creatures visible were locusts, which flitted about in 
considerable numbers, even in districts where there did 
not seem to be a blade of grass or a green leaf. After 
about four hours' journey, we got into the Nile valley, 
which with its rich and vivid colouring was a delightful 
change. 

About two we stopped at Zagazig to have some 
refreshment, and then changed trains for Cairo — our 
American companions leaving us at Ismalia to proceed 
by steamer through the great canal , When we started 
again, there was a curious mixture of nationalities in the 
compartment. Two Arab merchants, a pretty Spanish 
actress accompanied by an Italian gentleman, an English- 
man from Australia, an Englishwoman from India, and a 



SUEZ AND CAIRO. 



307 



Scotch doctor settled in Egypt, who was returning to 
his home in Cairo, composed the oddly assorted company. 

We reached that city about five, and after some 
delay, with the luggage, my fellow-traveller and I found 
ourselves in the omnibus bound for the Hotel du Nil, 
which had been strongly recommended to me. If this 
had not been the case, we should probably have turned 
back in disgust at the unfavourable approach. All the 
Cairo streets are narrow, but at last we turned into a 
narrower still, and then arriving at a narrowest — a £*ully 
not wide enough for even a single carriage — had to pro- 
ceed on foot, with oar baggage borne bv clamorous natives 

' COO 1/ 

down a steep nnpaved passage, crowded with donkeys 
and children, and then pass under two low archways 
to the entrance. Once inside we found the hotel not 
unlike the old Bras d'Or at Trouviile, only consider- 
ably larger; built as a quadrangle round a large court full 
of palms and other tropical plants, with a small reading- 
room in the middle. 

We were just in time to dress for the half-past six 
o'clock dinner at the table d'hote, where I happily made 
the acquaintance of some delightful people, whose society 
subsequently proved one of the greatest advantages 
I enjoyed at Cairo. Finding that we had mutual friends 
in Calcutta, they invited me to their room for the 
evening coffee, and this was the first of many pleasant 
hours. As they had been already a fortnight in Cairo, 
and were quite at home at the Hotel du Nil, their direc- 
tions as to sight-seeing, etc., were very valuable, and 
we visited together some of the most interesting places. 

The regular hours of the hotel were as follows : — 
Early breakfast at 7.30 consisted of capital coffee, bread 
and butter, and eggs cooked in various ways ; and a 
second most substantial breakfast at noon, and a capital 
dinner and coffee at night, made up the list of meals ; 



308 



OVERLAND HOME AGAIN. 



for which, with, lights, attendance, and a comfortable 
bed-ruom, the charge was twelve shillings a day, 

At nine the next morning Mrs. Y came to my 

room, and arranged for me to accompany them to the 
museum at Boulac, where there is a choice collection of 
Egyptian antiquities, beautifully arranged. The excur- 
sion was performed on donkeys, the almost universal 
mode of transit in Cairo, where the streets are so narrow, 
dirty, and crowded, that driving is in many parts impos- 
sible, and walking far from pleasant. Many are not wide 
enough for a single carriage, and the archways too low 
for a man on horseback ; but a donkey can go almost 
anywhere. 

But how shall I attempt to describe these indescrib- 
able Cairo streets ? with their tall houses shutting out 
the sun, and in some places overlaid with boards from 
roof to roof, so as to cover in the thoroughfare; their 
dingy little shops like cupboards in the walls ; their 
curious carved casements put on any how outside the 
houses ; and the swarming population below — Egyptians, 
Turks, Jews, Syrians, Greeks, Abyssinians, Arabs, and 
Franks — men in fezes, men in turbans, men in hats, men 
in trousers, men in petticoats, men in baggy Greek nether 
garments — with bare legs, with boots, and with peaked 
red or yellow slippers — richly dressed officials, on hand- 
somely caparisoned horses, ragged, donkey-boys, and 
strings of camels. The latter are very troublesome to 
pedestrians, they follow one so noiselessly, and walk over 
one so unconcernedly ; whereas donkeys show some degree 
of consideration, and carriages are generally preceded by 
running footmen to clear the way. Footpaths there are 
none; so this precaution is an absolute necessity. The 
women of the upper classes wear wide trousers, yellow 
leather stockings, and black shoes, with a large shapeless 
black silk garment over all, and a face veil that only shows 



SUEZ TO CAIRO. 



309 



the eyes ; and those of lower rank are wrapped entirely in 
dark blue cotton, with a frontlet like a set of brass thimbles 
between their eyes. Inconvenient and disfiguring as are 
these disguises, it is quite refreshing, after a sojourn in 
India,, to see respectable women enjoying any liberty of 
locomotion at all. 

Then the museum was so full of incredible things ! 
Tools handled by masons who lived before Joseph were 
sold here ; a palette with the colours still distinguishable 
that were spread while Abraham was a living man; and 
mythological emblems full of deep spiritual tr uth, that 
seemed to pierce farther into the abyss of futurity than 
even Hebrew prophets dived, strangely mingled with the 
relics of debasing superstition. 

We had only time to go through two rooms, as my 
friends were no cursory students, and it was necessary to 
return to breakfast. After this, we started for another 
expedition, through a long series of quaint, narrow streets, 
up to the citadel, which is said to have been founded by 
Saladin in 1176. It contains the mint and arsenal, one 
of the pacha's palaces, a deep well called Joseph's well, 
and a grand mosque built by Mehemet Ali. The latter is 
a magnificent specimen of a gaudy, meretricious style, 
built almost entirely, as well as paved, with yellow-veined 
marble, and effective in size and proportion, as well as in 
material and workmanship. It is nearly square, the roof 
one great central dome, surrounded by four large half 
domes, with smaller whole ones in the comers, all gor- 
geous with tracery in dark enamel and gold, and rich 
with colour. The old chief's tomb is in a splendid square 
chapel in one corner, covered with the richest and stiiiest 
gold embroidery. Outside are two slender minarets, and 
a large court also paved with marble and surrounded by 
a kind of cloisters. Devotees were washing at a central 
fountain before going in to pray, and others were bowing 



OVERLAND HOME AGAIN. 



their foreheads to the ground, and repeating their invoca- 
tions inside. 

From the outer court there is a fine view of the city 
with its countless domes and minarets, and the pyramids 
in the distance ; and close by is the enclosure where the 
hapless Mameluke chiefs were trapped and shot down. 
One leaped his horse over the battlements at a spot 
pointed out to us — a sheer and terrible descent — and 
effected a truly miraculous escape. 

The Pacha's palace, which we also visited, is in 
thoroughly French taste, but one of the rooms struck 
us as singularly cool and pretty. It was lined and ceiled 
with dark- green satin, and the blinds painted with 
groups of white water-lilies, floating among their leaves. 
Another was all amber satin ; and the great man's 
bath-room was floored and fitted entirely with yellow 
marble. 

Our ascent to this commanding citadel had been by 
a circuitous road ; but in returning, we rode our donkeys 
down a long flight of steps, and continued the descent, 
by some narrow lanes, out towards the tombs of the 
Mamelukes. These form quite a city of sepulchres, but 
in a shamefully neglected state. Some were richly 
carved, others bore only the usual Mahometan sign — - 
the fez or turban carved on the headstone. Near was a 
mosque-like building, containing the tombs of the Pacha's 
family, where we were admitted on putting slippers over 
our boots, the usual compromise when foreigners are 
allowed to enter these sacred buildings. 

There were, perhaps, twenty or thirty tombs in this 
building, most of them in the gaudiest taste, carved and 
painted with staring wreaths of immense pink roses and 
other flowers ; but that of Ibrahim Pacha was really 
splendid in its way. It is a great altar-shaped tomb in 
three tiers, the highest being as large as an ordinary 



SUEZ TO CAIRO. 



311 



tomb, with high head and foot stones, the former sur- 
rounded by a gigantic head-dress ; but the splendour 
consists in its being entirely covered with rich, dark blue 
enamel, crusted all over with thick characters and devices 
in gold. 

I was very tired before we got back to the hotel, and 
glad to lie down for an hour before dinner, and read 
Miss Whately's interesting account of u Ragged Life in 
Egypt. " After dinner, I wrote up my journal, much tor- 
mented by the fleas, which are the ever-preseut plague of 
Egypt, and which literally hopped about my book as I 
sat writing. It would be an unpardonable oversight to 
dismiss these creatures with only cursory notice. Most 
travellers in Northern Africa take the precaution to pro- 
vide themselves with a supply of vermin powder ; but 
though this may diminish the evil, nothing can abolish it. 
As to pursuing the enemy, it is a wild and futile waste of 
time, for no amount of slaughter seems to have any effect 
upon their numbers, and there is nothing for it but 
stoical philosophy. The current statement that Egyptian 
fleas are strong enough to kick one's hand open when 
captured, may be safely dismissed as hyperbolical ; but 
assuredly they deserve to rank among the most notable 
productions of a land fertile in wonders. . 

The next day, being Sunday, we went to church at 
the Hotel iS T euf, where a large ecclesiastical-looking room 
is rented for the purpose, there being no English church 
at Cairo. We walked, on principle, though it is rather a 
precarious mode of transit for the reasons given above ; 
but it was very pleasant that lovely morning, and so was 
the reverent reading of the beautiful service, after the 
three Sundays on board. The hymns and chants were 
accompanied by a good harmonium, well played by the 
Consul's wife, and were sung with taste and spirit. 
Altogether, it was a very delightful service, none the less 



312 



OVERLAND HOAIE AGAIN. 



so, perhaps, because there was no sermon, the clergyman 
being probably a new arrival and unprepared. 

Going home, amid the usual confusion of bipeds, 
camels, horses, carriages, dogs, and donkeys, of which 
last there are said to be 20,000 in the city, we met an 
extraordinary funeral cortege. First a car, on which 
stood a coffin, of which the pall was blazoned with a 
large yellow cross, with women in an ecclesiastical 
uniform as pall-bearers ; and then a numerous procession 
of men, marching four or five abreast, and singing at the 
full power of their voices. It was good music, evidently 
from some mass, and the effect in that narrow street was 
very fine. We learnt afterwards, that it was the funeral 
of an actress, belonging probably to the opera company; 
who after a previous ineffectual attempt at suicide had at 
last succeeded in throwing herself from her window. 

Directly after breakfast on Monday morning, I started 
to see the Coptic and other churches. The Copts are the 
descendants of the early Egyptian Christians, who pre- 
serve their ancient faith, overlaid with much superstition; 
and a benevolent attempt, made by the present Bishop 
of Calcutta on his way out, to establish fraternal relations 
with their Patriarch, was completely frustrated by the 
dense ignorance of the latter prelate, Their quarter is not 
particularly picturesque, and as I went alone, with a donkey 
boy who spoke but little English, my facilities for acquiring 
information were but small ; but I was much interested 
in a ceremonial which was proceeding in the church. 
All the principal doors were shut, but we found an 
entrance leading to a little chapel included in the main 
building, but complete in itself, with doorways and 
window places in its walls. Eound it was a narrow 
space where the worshippers stood, one side being 
screened off with close lattice-work for the women. In- 
side the chapel were only the priest and his attendants— 



SUEZ TO CAIRO. 



313 



tlie former a fine looking man, wearing a beautiful white 
turban, and a violet silk mantle over a white garment 
embroidered with coloured flowers. His subordinates 
were in ordinary dress with fezes or turbans. 

On a large altar, which took up most of the middle 
space was an oblong pix, and I found afterwards that a 
mass was being celebrated for the patriarch lately 
deceased. The priest opened the pix with much cere- 
mony, and took out a kind of thick bun, which he 
seemed to be manipulating a long while, muttering and 
chanting, while the people responded loudly at intervals, 
with every appearance of devotion. After this had gone 
on for some time, he partook of it himself, and gave it 
to the attendants, putting it into their mouths as they 
stood before him. Then he elevated it in front of the 
people, to whom he had hitherto turned his back, and 
they all bowed. He afterwards carried it into the 
women's part, where I could not see what was done, and 
finally brought it back and finished it himself, rubbing 
his fingers round and round the plate, and sucking them 
assiduously. Next he took the cup, with the contents of 
which he had previously moistened the cake, and ad- 
ministered the wine to himself and his attendants with a 
spoon. He also drank from the cup, and two babies 
being brought to the door of the chapel, he dipped his 
finger in the wine, and allowed them to suck it off. I 
am not sure whether he carried the cup also outside; but, 
at all events, he emptied it himself, and then rubbed his 
fingers repeatedly round it, disposing of the sacred mois- 
ture in the same primitive fashion. Water was next 
poured in, and he rinsed both cup and spoon, drinking 
the water, and giving some to his companions. This 
was repeated several times, and water then poured from 
the cup into the plate, which was washed in like manner, 
and the water drunk. Lastly, an attendant poured water 



314 



OVERLAND HOME AGAIN. 



over his hands, and lie took a handful, and threw it up 
into the air with a loud exclamation, after which the 
people crowded up to the door of the chapel, and he 
patted them on the cheek with his wet hands. This 
salutation seemed to be much prized, and formed an 
appropriate conclusion to one of the most extraordinary 
religious services I ever witnessed. 

My astonishment was great when the friends to whom 
I minutely described the ceremony, told me that it 
scarcely differed from some of the Ritualistic perform- 
ances introduced into the Church of England during my 
vears of absence. 

I inquired in vain of several people whether I could 
see the church, but the want of common language was an 
insuperable barrier, till I met with a young man who 
spoke a little English, and took me in. It was a large, 
bare-looking building, with a rude picture of the Mother 
and Child, and one of St. Mark, a very high pulpit, and 
a throne for the Patriarch, which was placed with its 
back to the pulpit, facing towards the picture, an ar- 
rangement which had a very singular effect. All round 
the church, at a considerable height was a latticed gallery 
for the women, and my guide informed me that after 
confession, any one might receive the communion in both 
kinds. To my great astonishment he refused to accept a 
gratuity, from which unprecedented circumstance I could 
only conjecture that he was a gentleman, and thanked him 
accordingly, bestowing the money instead on a group of 
blind beggars at the church door. In countries where 
the style of dress is so different to our own as to afford no 
clue to the wearer's rank, and where ignorance of the 
language precludes any judgment on that score, one is 
occasionally liable to embarrassing mistakes of this kind. 

After I had seen the church, my polite guide took me 
to visit the schools, which were held within the same 



SUEZ TO CAIRO. 



315 



precincts. In the first room were some thirty or forty 
good sized boys learning the geography of Africa in 
English from an English map ; in another were double 
the number of little children learning their Coptic 
alphabet ; and in a third a large intermediate class, 
writing, etc. Altogether, I was very much interested 
and pleased. 

Then I remounted my patient steed and went to the 
Greek church, where also the doors were closed ; but some 
one to whom I applied took me to a large room near, 
where two ecclesiastics in black gowns and high caps 
were sitting, to one of whom I was presented as the 
archbishop. He spoke French, and on my explaining 
that I was an English stranger and wished to see the 
church, he courteously gave directions that some one 
should take me round. If my memory serves me rightly, 
it is nearly square, supported by columns, and hung 
with stiff and peculiar pictures all round the walls. But 
the most striking objects is the screen which shuts off the 
chancel. This is perhaps fifteen or twenty feet high, of 
rich brass or gilt work, with large paintings of the 
Apostles, the Annunciation, etc., let into the front, each 
with a small copy of itself just below. Besides these 
there were several very singular pictures, only the faces 
and hands of which were painted; the draperies, glories, 
backgrounds, etc., of chased gold and silver, fitting round 
them. Over the central opening in the screen hung a 
head of the Saviour, in this style, apparently very ancient, 
and the doorway was closed by a tapestried screen repre- 
senting some scriptural subject. The attendant drew this 
aside, and I was allowed to go up and look in. There 
were several altars and pictures, but nothing very striking; 
and immediately opposite the opening, where one would 
expect the high altar to be, was the throne of the Patriarch. 
When I got back after this visit to the churches, I 



316 



OVERLAND HOME AGAIN. 



found that Captain V had obtained an order from 

the consul to admit us to El Azhar. This is a most 
interesting rnosque, as old as Cairo itself, and famed in 
the earlier part of the middle ages as the great university 
of the East. It used to be a very rich foundation, sup- 
porting students from all parts of the world, and paying 
large salaries to its staff of teachers ; but Mehemet Ali 
confiscated the funds, and now the poor scholars are only 
privileged to live in the outer courts of the mosque, and 
receive a small daily or weekly dole of food, while the 
professors teach for nothing, and support themselves by 
other employments. 

When we saw it, the mosque and its courts must have 
contained more than a thousand people sitting in circles on 
the ground, each class round the ulema or holy man who 
was expounding the Koran. The students were not entirely 
young — a large proportion being middle-aged men, who 
were probably attending the classes as a religious duty. 
They were very attentive, each with his ink horn at his 
girdle, and a sheet of tin on which he made notes of the 
lectures, A few years ago the intrusion of Christians, and 
especially of females into this sacred spot, would have 
raised a whirlwind of fanatical rage ; and even as it was we 
should not have been safe without a cavass, or policeman, 
a tall, fine-looking fellow sent by the consul, and armed 
w T ith a whip, who cleared our way majestically. My com- 
panions took off their boots, but I preferred putting 
slippers over mine, it being necessary to do either the 
one or the other, to avoid defiling the holy places. I 
had also borrowed a veil, so as not to intrude the abomi- 
nation of the Moslems — an unveiled female face — before 
them ; but putting it up in a moment of forgetfulness, a 
little excitement arose. The people began to hustle us, and 
one or two small fragments of stone were thrown, rather 
contemptuously than spitefully ; but as soon as it was 



SUEZ TO CAIRO. 



317 



put down these manifestations ceased, and we walked 
through the crowd quite at ease. There is no beauty 
about El Azhar. It is simply an immense court, where 
crowds were sitting and lying about, sleeping or studying, 
and then a large flat-roofed building supported by rows 
of pillars, neither lofty, massive, nor impressive, but a 
most interesting sight nevertheless. I am afraid it would 
be long before fifty or sixty English professors would 
lecture on their religion daily. for many hours gratis, 
supporting themselves meanwhile by other toils. 

After El Azhar, we rode out again to Boulac, and 
spent some hours in going carefully through the funeral 
slabs and jewels, and some of the other rooms ; and after 
our return, the reading of some most interesting unpub- 
lished letters from Egypt finished a busy and instructive 
day. 

The next morning, I made arrangements early to start 

for the petrified forest, Captain Y kindly going with 

me to engage an intelligent donkey-boy, and giving him 
full directions where to take me. To my dismay, when 
I summoned him an hour after, he refused to go, alleging 
that the Bedouins were down in that part, and had robbed 
an English gentleman, and it was not safe to take a lady 
alone. Others corroborated the story, but I was most 
unwilling to give up the expedition ; and finally, at the 
landlord's suggestion, engaged the sheik of the donkey - 
• boys to be my escort. He was not afraid to go, and cer- 
tainly, in case of need, he would have been a better pro- 
tection than one of his lads, being a tall, stalwart man. 
He spoke no English, but a little tolerably comprehensible 
-French ; so we got on pretty well. 

The road lay through the tombs of the caliphs — quite 
a city of the dead — then among low rocks and sand-hills, 
and past Some quarries out into the desert. This is not 
here a flat expanse of sand, but a series of ranges of 



313 



OVERLAND HOUE AG A IX. 



rounded, rocky hills, with sandy flats between them. The 
sand, in some parts, was loose and yielding; in others, 
as firm as a hard sea-beach, which, indeed, it much resem- 
bled, being thickly strewn with pebbles of cornelian, and 
shells of the flat snail which feeds on the few thorny 
plants about. 

After a few miles, we began to see traces of the 
singular phenomenon of which I was in search. Blocks 
of fossil wood lay here and there, and the sand was strewn 
for a long distance with chips, like the floor of a workshop, 
the grain and texture of the wood being still perfectly 
distinct. I dismounted and collected a number of speci- 
mens, and even wandered quite out of sight of my steed 
and his driver, to the top of one of the ranges, whence 
there was a pretty glimpse of green fields and part of the 
city in the distance. Except this, of which I soon lost 
sight, there was not a trace of human presence anywhere ; 
and I never felt so utterly alone as in those few moments 
in the sandy waste. The sun was hot, but the air delight- 
fully fresh and pure; and the only signs of life were an 
occasional locust rustling through the air, and a few little 
sand-coloured lizards darting swiftly from stone to stone. 

Presently I rejoined my Arab, and remounting, plodded 
on till I grew very hot and tired, and began to long for 
the spot where I had been promised a lovely view of the 
Nile valley, and pleasant shade for rest and luncheon. 
Alas ! I soon found that my guide knew nothing of the • 
locality, and could not find any place where fossil trunks 
of trees lay in sufficient numbers really to deserve the 
name of a petrified forest. He said it lay to the left, over 
a distant white hill, and thither we trudged, noting by 
the way a mysterious, distant object which somewhat 
alarmed me, but which proved as we got nearer to be a 
carriage and four with attendants. We passed it at a 
considerable distance, but when we reached the white 



SUEZ TO CAIRO. 



319 



ridge, and my guide had to confess his ignorance and 
turn back, it was standing directly in our road. I would 
gladly have avoided the proximity, for, truth to tell, I 
felt anything but an object for civilized inspection — hot, 
tired, and dusty, with a hat on to which sun and spray 
had done their worst ; an old English waterproof that had 
been travelled in and slept in, and gnawed by fish insects 
through all my Indian journeys ; and a skirt on which 
Cairo donkeys and camels, and the Egyptian population 
in general, had trodden, till I sometimes doubted whether 
any fragments of it would survive. However, there the 
carriage stood, indubitably awaiting our approach ; and 
when we came up to it, a tall, elderly, aristocratic- lookiug 
man stepped out, and accosting me in French with the 
most deferential politeness, informed me that the lady 
within would be delighted if I would honour her with 
my company back to the town. As for himself, he 
would be charmed if I would permit him to ride my 
donkey, and then we could have the carriage quite to 
ourselves. 

I need not say how welcome was the former part of 
the proposition at such a moment ; but the sheik demurred 
to the latter clause, on the ground that the animal in 
question was too tired. So I was soon seated behind four 
horses, beside a voluble Russian lady, with the gentleman, 
who proved to be a distinguished Greek officer, as my 
vis-d-vis. The sheik, who was a much heavier man^ 
mounted the donkey himself, as soon as he saw us seated, 
and coolly rode it all the way back to town. 

French was our only medium of communication, and 
after we had compared our geological specimens and our 
experiences of Cairo, and the lady found that I had come 
from India, she was unwearied in her questions about the 
country, climate, customs, religion, arts, etc. ; so we kept 
up an animated conversation for the couple of hours or so 



320 



OVERLAND HOME AGAIN. 



that the drive lasted. Tliey not only drove me to the 
hotel, but accompanied me in for a prolonged call; and I 
found that they had travelled through Upper Egypt, and 
were going to spend a fortnight in Cairo : after which the 
lady intended visiting Syria, Greece and Constantinople, 
returning home by the Black Sea, and starting next year 
for Italy, Spain, Algiers, and perhaps India and Cochin 
China. 

She was certainly an enterprising a-nd intelligent 
woman, and I much regretted that my limited time 
forbade my returning her call, as she pressed me to do. 
Altogether it was a most amusing and unexpected 

rencontre. 

When I was sitting afterwards in the garden with a 
book, a coffin was carried downstairs, containing the 
body of a foreign gentleman, who had been staying some 
time in the hotel. It was enclosed in a sarcophagus like 
outer coffin, with gilt feet and a large gilt cross on the 
lid, round which hung a deep frill of lace, and a festoon 
of flowers. 

I spent a very pleasant evening with my friends, who 
were about to start for a long tour in the desert on the 
morrow, and it was settled that as they intended pitching 
their tent for the first few days under the shadow of the 
Pyramids, I should take advantage of their hospitality to 
spend a long day in seeing the wonders of that myste- 
rious spot. 

The early morning of the next day was spent in a 
long visit to Miss Whately's most interesting schools, 
which are much less known than they deserve to be. This 
lady, one of the gifted daughters of the late Archbishop, 
has devoted many years to independent missionary efforts 
chiefly among the women and children of Cairo and its 
neighbourhood ; and much success has attended her 
labours in this- singularly unpromising field. She has 



SUEZ TO CAIRO. 



32 



now upwards of 200 boys and girls in her schools, 
comprising Arabs, Copts, Greeks and Syrians, whose 
bright faces and intelligent answers bear their own 
testimony to the Christian love and patient care that have 
opened to them a way from the depths of ignorance and 
degradation into the light and freedom of Christ's glorious 
gospel. 

After breakfast, having secured an intelligent donkev- 
boy with more knowledge of English than most of his 
fraternity, I started for Old Cairo. It was a long ride, 
past Mebemet Air's great aqueduct and the Pacha's palace 
and gardens, through fields of sugar-cane and a large 
plantation of huge cacti, cultivated for their figs, into a 
quarter meaner, narrower, dirtier and quainter than 
anything I had seen in the mere modern city. My first 
visit was to the old Coptic church, where a droll little girl, 
deeply marked with the small-pox, showed me strange 
antiquated pictures and carvings, and I groped my way 
by the light of a candle down a narrow flight of steps 
under a low doorway, to a passage-like crypt, with seats 
hollowed in the wall and marked with square crosses, 
where tradition says that the Virgin and Child were con- 
cealed during their stay in Egypt. Singularly enough 
all parties seem to hold this spot sacred ; Copts, Greeks, 
Jews, and I believe two or three other religions having 
places of worship only a few yards apart. 

The Greek church is an extraordinary place. We 
turned in as usual at a low doorway in a dead wall, and 
found ourselves in a filthy court, where we waited till 
some one came with a primitive wooden key and opened 
a door. Then we went in and out, up one flight of steps 
after another, through passages, past bed-rooms and living 
rooms, shelves of bread, and people cooking, into a little 
chapel with a quaint carved shrine, inside which a lamp 
hung burning before an eccentric painting of St. George, 

21 



322 



OVERLAND HOME AGAIN". 



or as they call him here, St. Gorg, slaying the dragon; 
Then the door communicating with the church was 
thrown open, and displayed the usual chancel screen and 
indeed the whole interior, hung with extraordinary and 
uncouth pictures. There were nine large paintings of 
apostles, and St. Gorg again in a variety of forms—one 
large picture of him surrounded by a framework of little 
ones representing some twenty scenes of his life. There 
were also a number more, out of which the only name I 
could distinguish was that of St. Onofrio, framed like St. 
Gorg, in a series of their own deeds. Altogether it was 
exceedingly quaint and curious, and would have been very 
interesting, had I had any satisfactory medium of com- 
munication with my guide. As it was, I had to put my 
questions in English to my Arab donkey-boy, who inter- 
preted them in his own tongue to the attendant priest, 
who I think answered in Greek, which was again rendered 
into very imperfect English by the lad. So upon the 
whole I had to depend mainly upon my own eyes. 

Last I went to the synagogue, which two poor old 
Jewish hags showed me. What language they spoke I 
have no idea, but the utter poverty and desolation of the 
little sanctuary were eloquent enough. They had nothing 
to show but the sacred rolls of the law in their mystic 
cases, a treasure indeed, and faithfully, though ignorantly 
guarded ; but their abject poverty went to my heart, and 
I gave them the largest backsheesh I had bestowed that 
day. 

I did not get back till after one, hot and tired, and 
the public breakfast was over, but a very satisfactory 
private edition was obligingly furnished and quickly 
spread. As this was my last day at Cairo, I was anxious 
to see all I could of the wonderful old city, so I started 
again after a short rest to see the two grand ancient 
mosques of Tooloon and Sultan Hassan. The former is 



SUEZ TO CAIRO. 



323 



very different to any other we had seen. It is the oldest 
building in Cairo, said to have been founded by Tooloon, 
a governor of Egypt in the middle of the ninth century. 
There is no cupola, and I think no minaret, or at least I 
noticed none. The building consists of several parallel 
naves, divided by flat pillars and round arches, sculp- 
tured with genuine Moorish carving. In the side walls 
were open-cut stone windows, many of them of very 
beautiful and delicate workmanship, the interstices only 
just large enough to admit a little light. The place 
seemed totally deserted, and is apparently never used 
for worship. The walls were scribbled over in many 
places with rude charcoal drawings, and women accom- 
panied me in — the first I had seen in any mosque. They 
chattered freely, and evidently felt none of the reverence 
I did for the grand old temple. Attached to it is a large 
court, round which great numbers of poor are allowed to 
live ; and neither here nor in the mosque itself was I 
required, as usual, to take off or cover my boots. In fact, 
the women seemed chiefly anxious lest I should soil my 
dress on the dusty floor \ but one grows indifferent about 
this in Cairo, which is the place of all others for getting 
one's clothes trampled and torn. 

Sultan Hassan's mosque is just below the citadel — a 
magnificent, and I should think, ancient pile, which 
struck me as being far loftier than any other. It looks as 
massive as the living rock, and I should have thought 
that nothing short of an earthquake could have rent such 
walls, but some tremendous cracks show that there is 
something seriously wrong. It is said to be built of 
blocks taken from the Pyramids, and probably old Father 
Time resents the spoliation of his elder children, and has 
taken this method of marking his displeasure. 

The entrance is up a steep flight of steps and through 
a lofty entrance-hall, passing which, Hassan routed out a 



324 



OVERLAND HOME AGAIN. 



pair of basket slippers from behind a door, in which I 
put my feet, and managed to slide along into the court. 
Here again was splendour in solitude and decay. A grand 
square court of large extent, paved entirely with marble 
mosaic work, beautiful still, though broken and uneven ; 
and the central fountain desolate and dry, but exquisitely 
domed and arched, carved and inlaid. One solitary 
worshipper was at his devotions Meccawards, and some 
one came forward to let us into the mosque itself, which 
struck me far more impressively than any of the others. 
Built of dark-reddish stone and very lofty, the walls and 
roof are almost bare of ornament, except where an 
inscription in gigantic letters is carved round about mid- 
way up the walls, proclaiming that there is but one God 
and Mahomet his prophet ; and where the four corners of 
the roof at the junction of the square with the dome melt 
into fretted caves of wonderful rugged beauty, 

The four mosques I saw in Cairo are all widely 
different. Mehemet Air's gorgeous and glittering ; El 
Azhar only interesting from its ancient fame and its 
crowd of attendants and worshippers ; Tooloon majestic 
with a certain stern, grave beauty even in decay, and 
Sultan Hassan's gloriously grand, the most solemn and 
touching of them all. I think that any one living in 
Cairo might well come here to pray. 

Going home, I rode very slowly through the streets, 
thoroughly enjoying them for the last time. No descrip- 
tion can do justice to these Cairo thoroughfares. A few 
of the best are as wide as the thoroughfare of a back 
street at home, but many will not admit even a single 
carriage, and in some not even a horseman could pass. 
The houses are lofty, and in the older quarters have 
projecting upper stories, from which again project the 
windows, like flat wooden boxes of delicately-carved lat- 
tice work. These are stuck on any how, large and small, 



SUEZ TO CAIEO. 



325 



up and down, sometimes window upon window, square- 
curved, edged with projecting carved work or capped 
with pagoda tops, and they meet and interlap over- 
head in most picturesque confusion. Between them here 
and there the gleams of sunshine fell upon such wealth of 
colouring as perhaps no other city in the world can show. 
Eed fezes, surmounting deep blue garments, or white- 
turbaned Arabs with their broad striped mantles, and 
richly dressed and mounted Turks, choke the narrow 
streets, mingled with camels and donkeys laden with 
every kind of vegetable produce. On each side, in little 
shops about eight feet square recessed in the walls, sit the 
traders, among- goods even more brilliant in colouring 

* o o o 

than the passers by. Each trade has its own bazaar or 
street — one full from end to end of bright red and yellow 
shoes, another of gay stuffs, a third of confectionery, and 
a fourth of crimson donkey pads and other gaily tasseled 
saddlery. 

Overhead hang long streamers of coloured stuff, and 
here and there boards laid across from house to house roof 
in the streets for long spaces, and make a cool deep shade. 
Every third man one meets would be a good study for 
a painter, and the women's costume is amusing from 
its very ugliness. The middle and upper classes go 
about with a freedom which is enviable as compared 
with India, but they are all wrapped in hideous face-veils 
which only display their eyes, and, in fact, are mere 
shapeless bundles of dark silk drapery, displaying as they 
bestride their donkeys in masculine fashion, only their odd- 
looking yellow leather stockings and black shoes. Xow 
comes a syce with his long wand, bare legs, short full 
white skirts and sleeves, Albanian jacket and skull cap, to 
clear the way before a gaudy carriage ; then a loug string 
of camels with their ugly heads swaying from side to side 
and them broad noiseless feet; then a group of full- 



326 



OVERLAND HOME AGAIN. 



trousered Greeks; then an interminable succession of 
donkeys loaded with sugar-canes or vetches, and urged 
on by squalid drivers. Incessant cries of " Shemalak, 
Shemalak, Reglak, Eeglak " (Mind your foot, keep to 
the left), resound, mingled with Arab objurgations to the 
people addressed, " white umbrella ! sweetmeat 
man ! lady ! Keep to the left ! " Every one seems 
good-tempered in the general crush, and even if an 
unexpected turn brings one's knees full tilt against 
a man's breast, he never looks fierce or growls at 
the inadvertence. The tawdriness, the bright colour- 
ing, the general picturesqueness neglect and decay, 
alternating with spasmodic newness, and the extra- 
ordinary variety of costume, form a tout ensemble that 
can neither be imagined nor described. The total length 
of the city is about three miles, by about one and a half, 
and within this area a most heterogeneous population of 
above 300,000 souls is congregated. 

One of the strangest and most unpleasant sights is 
the swarms of flies on the faces of many of the poor, 
especially children. They commonly settle in a fringe 
round the eyelids, and no one seems to care even to 
drive them away. This doubtless communicates and 
aggravates ophthalmia in many cases. 



327 



III 

THE PYRAMIDS. 

I had the pleasure of Miss W *s company in my next 

day's drive to the great Pyramids of Gizeh. We started 
about half-past seven in a comfortable phaeton, but had 
to wait a long while at the Nile bridge, which had just 
been opened for a long string of dahabiahs or passenger 
boats to pass through. When the Pacha is staying at 
his palace near here, this bridge is kept shut in the most 
arbitrary way if he is even likely to drive over it, and 
the Nile boats have to wait many hours at a time. 

Once over the river, we drove along a pleasant shaded 
road for several miles, and at last turned desertwards, 
and came in sight of the Pyramids. Close beside them 
the Pacha has built a little cockney villa, and an hotel 
after the same fashion is springing up near, but happily, 
it is only in the approach that one sees these glaring 
incongruities, as they fall gradually behind a rising 
ground. We drove towards the Sphinx as agreed, and 
there stood the little tent of our friends, with the Union 

Jack flying by way of signal. Mrs. V came out to 

welcome us, and I could not have imagined so much 
comfort in a tent of about ten feet diameter, as their little 
abode exhibited. The two narrow camp beds and some 
portmanteaux and campstools furnished seats, and a 
curtain made a little dressing-room, while a small camp 
table sufficed for all our meals. 



328 



OVE ELAND HOME AGAIN. 



Captain V was sketching the excavated temple 

in front of the Sphinx, and we went down at once to see 
it. It is curious, from the large size of the blocks of 
granite with which it is entirely built, but has little 
beauty except that of light and shade. The pillars are 
mere rough monoliths, and there is no roof, but we 
explored some dark passages on one side with candles, 
noting the glitter of the large grained granite overhead, 
and the yellowish alabaster of the floor. Out of these 
passages came many of the sarcophagi and images now 
at Boulac. 

Presently we returned to the tent to breakfast, and 
Bedawee, the dragoman, managed to give us a very 
creditable repast, cooked in and near a tiny tent beside 

our larger one. Afterwards we looked over Miss 

beautiful Nile sketches, and then strolled down with a 
donkey laden with drawing materials, etc., to some trees 

at a little distance, where she and Mrs. V proposed 

to sit and sketch. On the way we noticed a variety of 
beautiful little wild flowers springing in the sand, trefoils, 
small yellow chamomiles, mesembryanthemums, and tiny, 
but very fragrant purple stocks ; and one of the party 
told us that fifteen or sixteen species of wild flowers may 
be gathered at some seasons within a few yards of desert 
ground. How they live is wonderful. It reminded one 
of Mungo Park, and the desert flower that saved him from 
despair. 

The sketchers soon chose their point of view, and 
took their pest under a sycamore fig-tree, looking over 
the desert to the Nile valley, brilliant with green and 
yellow; a mud village and a grove of palms in the 
middle distance, and the cliffs of the Mokhatten range, 
and the white roofs and minarets of Cairo beyond. This 
was the view they chose, but to the left lay the Pyramids 
with the Sphinx in front, so softened by distance as 



THE PYRAMIDS. 



329 



really to look grand, and enable one to judge of what she 
must have been when perfect. The raptures of some 
travellers over the mutilated face are comprehensible 
from this point of view, but I could not by any effort 
bring myself to admire the Pyramids. Even their size 
does not affect one as might have been expected, and 
they seem simply huge monuments of tyranny and wrong, 
scarcely more picturesque than a group of huge brick 

kilns. It was only when Captain V and I left the 

sketchers and rode up to them that I even began to take 
in their size. Looking up from the base, and seeing the 
great kites wheeling round the summit, which pierced 
the air like a mountain top, one could realize that they 
were indeed the loftiest buildings ever reared by man, 
but even this consideration failed to render them sublime. 

The total height of the Great Pyramid — that of 
Cheops — is 480 feet, and it occupies an area of nearly 
twelve acres. The second, that of Cephrenes, is much 
smaller, though nearly as high, and very difficult to 
ascend, as its casing still remains, while that of the 
Great Pyramid has been stripped off, leaving a series of 
gigantic steps, up which travellers sufficiently enterpris- 
ing and ambitious can be dragged and propelled by 
clamorous Arabs, The third, supposed to be the joint 
work of Mycerinus and Queen Nitocris, is less than half 
the height of the others, and only 354 feet square ; and 
the six smaller ones are of very moderate dimensions. 
The Sphinx is said to be 172 feet long, hewn from the 
natural rock, eked out with stone casing ; but only the 
head and part of the neck are visible, the body being 
buried deep in sand. 

There are other groups of pyramids at Sakkhara, 
Aboo Seir, Shahsoor, and many other places ; but one 
must visit Karnak and Luxor, the remains of ancient 
Thebes, which I had no opportunity of doing, to form 



330 



OVERLAND HOME AGAIN. 



any just idea of the grandeur of old Egyptian art. There 
are the marvellous avenues of columns, and of sphinxes, 
that have defied the power of time for tens of centuries ; 
there Ranieses III. still triumphs over conquered kings ; 
and the name of Judah stands in the list of tributary 
nations, corroborating the evidence of Scripture story. 
There, in the great palace hall, upwards of one hundred 
and thirty giant columns are still standing, some seventy 
feet in height and twelve feet in diameter ; and the Mem- 
nonium, or Ramesium, on the western bank of the river, 
is the great palace-temple of Rameses II., containing his 
colossal statue. This wonderful work, now prostrate and 
sorely mutilated, the benighted natives having used his 
face as a quarry for their mill-stones, was sixty feet high, 
and computed to weigh nearly nine hundred tons, hewn 
from a single block of red granite, which must have been 
transported from Syene, a distance of nearly one hundred 
and forty miles ! Half a mile away stand the two well- 
known Memnons, also giant monoliths, the seated figures 
forty-seven feet high, with pedestals that add another 
twelve feet to their altitude. Surely, with all our modern 
engineering science, and all the power that steam can 
give, we are but dwarfs beside the old world sculptors, 
who could plan and carry out such works as these. 

But to return to our day at the Pyramids. We went 
first to a tomb near the great Sphinx, first explored by 
General Vyse, the plan of which is very singular. A deep 
rectangular trench is cut in the solid rock, just as one 
would dig out the foundation of a house, only to a far 
greater depth. It made one giddy to stand at the edge 
and look into the perpendicular cutting, not above two or 
three feet wide, but several yards in length, which forms 
each side of the enclosure. In some places tombs were 
hollowed out in the sides of the rocky wall, and sarco- 
phagi are visible, probably those of the great roan's 



THE PYRAMIDS. 



331 



family. Within this singular enclosure, the rock had 
been left untouched, except just in the centre, where a 
single tomb was hewn as deep as the encircling trench ; 
and looking over the brink, we could seethe black marble 
sarcophagus, with its perfect and impassive features, 
looking up straight to the sky, a far more interesting and 
impressive sight, aL least to me, than the Pyramids beside 
it. It was surely a triumph of pre-historic engineering 
skill, this rock-hewn grave, cut to such a depth through 
difficult material with perfect accuracy of shape and size. 

We rode round one of the smaller pyramids, and then 
dismounted and crept into some of the less important 
tombs, which are plentiful here, cut into every rocky 
mound. One has only to descend a few steps, and pass 
under a low, square doorway, on the rounded top stone of 
which the inmate's name is inscribed in hieroglyphic 
carving, and then sit down on the cool sand inside, to 
look at pictures still fresh, but older than the book of 
Exodus. It is inconceivable, but true. Painted in rows 
upon the walls, you see the old Egyptians cooking, feast- 
ing, fighting in boats, performing all the duties of hus- 
bandry, making offerings to their gods, dying, and burying 
their dead. The paint is clear yet, aud some of the 
animals spirited and true to life. Furnished with lighted 
candles, you creep on and on through passages far too 
low to admit of an upright posture, till the history is 
spelt out, and you emerge to upper day. 

Without, the rocks tell their own story. They are 
the tombs of countless millions older still. The beautiful 
white tufa, of which they consist, is a perfect conglomerate 
of tiny fossil shells, and the large petrified sea-urchins, 
which the Arabs dig out of the sand, corroborate the 
theory that all the desert has been sea. 

By the time we had ridden round two sides of the 
Great Pyramid, we had acquired a more respectful idea 



332 



OVERLAND HO^IE AGAIN. 



of its magnitude ; and the Bedouin guide then proposed 
to rue to dismount and chmb a path which led to the 
entrance, too steep and narrow even for the donkeys. 
Captain V — — , who was lame from a recent accident, 
remained below, and I followed the Arab alone along the 
face of the stone 'mountain till we came to a high closed 
arch in the side, nearly fifty feet above the base. Within 
this was a low, square hole; and the Bedouin lighted a 
candle, and beckoned me to follow him in. The passage 
was not quite four feet high, and little more than a yard 
wide ; so neither of us could stand upright ; and I found 
the sloping slabs of fine white limestone that paved the 
drain-like passage painfully slippery. It was easier for 
my barefooted companion \ but I had to steady myself 
with my hands against the sides, while he crawled on 
first, candle in hand, now up, now down, now climbing 
with hands as well as feet, now hurrying along a straight 
passage, till I began to feel that I could not proceed much 
longer in that constrained position. The passage must 
be about one hundred yards long, and only the last half 
dozen yards of it are high enough for upright standing. 
At last we reached a roundish chamber, about eighteen 
feet square and twenty high in the middle, and, lo ! we 
were under the apex of the pyramid. This is called the 
Queen's Chamber, and is perfectly empty, the King's 
Chamber, which lies above it, and is approached by a 
loftier passage branching off not far from the end of the 
other, containing the celebrated coffer or sarcophagus 
which has been of late the subject of so much learned dis- 
sertation. Unfortunately I did not remember at the moment 
all these important disquisitions ; and having had enough 
of dark and stifling passages, I declined to prosecute the 
exploration further. So, after a few moments' rest, we 
recommenced our slippery march, and at last emerged, 
hot and breathless, on the cool side of the great stone 



THE PYRAMIDS. 



333 



mountain, where Captain V was patiently waiting in 

the shade below. 

The Arabs, three of whom had accompanied us, were 
clamorous for backsheesh, but a rupee between them 
settled the matter, and after sitting some time with the 
sketchers we returned to the tent to dinner, a very merry 
and enjoyable meal, notwithstanding some slight foretastes 
of desert privation. The bread was some days old, and 
the water, though from the much vaunted Nile, so muddy, 
that thirsty as I was, I could not fancy tasting it, till its 
colour was disguised with raspberry vinegar. Such little 
contretemps are far less annoying abroad than at home, 
because where one necessarily depends much on native 
servants or dragomen, they reflect no discredit on the 
entertainers and produce no embarrassment. At last 
came the inevitable end of this happy day — the parting 
with friends whose society had added an unexpected 
charm to this brief pause in my homeward journey — and 
a delightful drive back to Cairo in the clear stillness of 
the closing night. 

The next morning was occupied with packing, and 
after the mid- day breakfast I started to say good-bye to 

Miss Vv 7 , en route for the station. By the way, I 

had another brief experience of the inconvenience which 
the curse of Babel entails upon the hapless traveller. 
The hotel waiter who saw me off had given the necessary 
instructions to the driver, but he either misunderstood or 
forgot them, and suddenly stopping in a street quite 
unknown to me, intimated that this was the place. In 
vain I repeated to the best of my ability the formula which 

I had been told to give as Miss W *s address, and 

in vain appealed to one passer-by after another for infor- 
mation, iso one understood, and I sat forlorn in the 
carriage, beginning to despair of seeing my kind friend 
again, when I saw an Arab boy pass, and was struck by 



334 



OVERLAID HOME AGAIX. 



the brilliant thought that he might know about the school 
though his seniors were ignorant. Fortunately the con- 
jecture was correct, and he directed the driver to the 
house. 

Notwithstanding this delay there was still a long 
waiting at the station, owing to the delightful uncertainty 
of the Egyptian trains, the starting of which is never 
sure within an hour or two. 



335 



IV 

ALEXANDRIA TO SOUTHAMPTON. 

The first part of the journey was pleasant, our road lying 
through the fertile Nile valley, with its rich fields, where 
here and there a group of camels or buffaloes with their 
picturesque drivers enlivened the prospect with some 
glimpses of oriental life. Night closed in before we 
reached Alexandria, and I was heartily glad to find myself 
safe at the Peninsular and Oriental Hotel with all my 
baggage, which had been a considerable trouble to me in 
the transit. 

Seldom has a night's rest been more welcome than 
that which awaited me in that extremely rambling and in 
some respects uncomfortable establishment, which how- 
ever enjoys the advantage of being on a broad, public 
place, planted with trees and furnished with shady 
benches. 

Alexandria is indeed far more like a French than an 
Egyptian town, as I found when, after a nine o'clock 
breakfast at the table d'hote, I started on a solitary 
exploring expedition. The first thing was to inquire at 
the Peninsular and Oriental office the probable time of the 
steamer's departure ; and as I found that she was not yet 
in, and not expected to start till the morrow afternoon, 
there seemed ample time to look about the town. 

The first place I visited was the Greek church, a mean 
building externally, but internally very costly. The 



336 



OVERLAND HOME AGAIN. 



whole area was empty, except for the pulpit, and a 
number of immense candlesticks, and was divided into a 
nave and side aisles by slender lofty pillars and round 
arches. To the east an immense marble screen stretches 
across the church, reaching nearly to the roof, and sur- 
mounted by a crucifix and figures of St. John and the 
Virgin — not statues of course, they being forbidden in 
Greek churches, but pictures cut out so as to present as 
nearly as possible the same appearance. 

Below these was a large eye surrounded by gilded 
rays, and lower still row after row of pictures framed iu 
the marble, with eleven large lighted lamps of massive 
silver, suspended in front from doves of the same metal. 
The only openings in the screen were the central doorway 
and one at each end, over which hung screens of 
tapestry, which when drawn aside displayed large tomb- 
like altars, backed by cut-out figures like those above the 
screen. Among the pictures were several of the same 
curious kind as I had noticed at Cairo, with draperies and 
backgrounds of chased gold and silver, and only the 
hands and faces painted ; and in front of others hung 
silver models of hands, eyes, limbs, and babies, given as 
thankofferings for cures, etc. 

These had a curious and tawdry effect, but the interior 
as a whole was rather fine. 

Then I went rambling on, past several large mutilated 
statues which stood in the streets uncared for, with their 
massive fragments lying around them, to a height whence 
I hoped to get some general idea of the city, so as to be 
able to steer towards the Needle or the Pillar. Here I 
found an unexpected hindrance in half a dozen surly 
Egyptian dogs, which were lying in the sun, and came 
round me furiously, till a bare-legged lad drove them 
away, and guarded me to the top of the mound, which 
ibrmed part of the fortifications. Here I got a satisfactory 



ALEXANDRIA TO SOUTHAMPTON. 



337 



view, including the distant obelisk ; and, passing a 
florist's on my way down, went in and enjoyed once more 
with intense pleasure the sight of European flowers. 
Stocks, phloxes, roses, and mignonette were all in full 
bloom, and the proprietor, a Frenchman, seemed really 
gratified by my appreciation of their beauty and perfume. 
It was still a long walk to the quay, where, in a stone- 
mason's yard, stands the famous Cleopatra's Xeedle, the 
height and whole appearance of which were so far below 
my anticipations that I could scarcely believe it to be 
really the far-famed obelisk. 

A round through the fish and poultry market brought 
me back in time for tiffin, at which meal I made the 
acquaintance of a newly-married couple outward bound, 
who, knowing some of my Indian friends, invited me to 
accompany them afterwards in a drive to Pompey's Pillar 
and the Catacombs. Near the former, which is finely 
situated, and much more striking than the obelisk, lie 
some interesting remains of ancient statues, perfectly 
unprotected, and exposed to any wanton mutilation. A 
boy was actually offering for backsheesh pieces chipped 
from Pompey's Pillar ! Near the pillar are some curious 
remains of an ancient Christian church, lately disin- 
terred, with a few traces of sculpture, and of paintings 
of saints and angels, with the gilded glories still faintly 
showing. 

After exploring these, we had a long drive by the canal, 
and then back to the hotel, where we were greeted with 
the intelligence that the Southampton boat had arrived, 
and the passengers were required to be on board by five. 
As it was already half-past four, there was just time to 
repack hastily and get off, the other passengers having 
already departed, in the omnibus and steamer provided for 
them. But the ship was not reached without a sharp 
contest with driver, coolies, and boatmen, to say nothing 

22 



388 



OVERLAND HOME AGAIN. 



of a dragoman, who rode down to the quay on the box of 
my conveyance, without leave asked or obtained, and ex- 
pected to be paid for doing so. 

The only way to manage these people is to ask at the 
hotel, or of some reliable person, what is the proper fare, 
and then steadily refuse to give a farthing beyond • other- 
wise, a lady travelling alone is considered a fair mark for 
extortion. In this case, coolies and dragomen followed 
me into the boat, and the latter coolly seated himself, 
while the others pressed round nie with noisy and exorbi- 
tant demands for merely carrying my luggage from the 
road to the boat. I gave them a fair payment ; and when 
they saw it was useless to expect more, they slowly 
departed. Then the dragoman, a respectable-looking 
individual in a sort of uniform, who had sat by with 
folded arms and left me to manage for myself, had the 
effrontery so ask what I should give him. I replied un- 
hesitatingly, " Nothing," reminding him that he had 
ridden down en my carriage without leave, and rendered 
me no service whatever. He was disposed to be insolent ; 
but, finding me resolute, at last abandoned the field, 
leaving me alone with the boatmen, who instantly began 
their demands, refusing to row me to the ship unless I 
agreed to pay what I knew was far beyond the regular 
charge. By this time I was almost out of patience ; so I 
settled myself comfortably in the boat, and told them that 
there was no hurry, and I could sit there as long as they 
liked, but I would neither get out nor pay anything till 
we reached the ship, when they should have what the 
officer said was right, and no more. This emphatic 
statement at last prevailed, and thus characteristic was 
my last glimpse of Egyptian life and manners. Unblush- 
ng extortion from all who can be cheated or frightened 
into submission is the native rule alike in Egypt and in 
India; and it was with real pleasure and relief that I 



ALEXANDRIA TO SOUTHAMPTON. 



339 



stepped upon the deck of a home-bound ship, and found 
myself among Englishmen once more. 

The first night, however, brought me into unpleasant 
contact with a vice more disgusting 1 and degrading than 
any I had encountered abroad. Among the passengers 
was e( an officer and a gentleman/ 3 a young man of good 
position and refined appearance, whose habits of nightly 
intoxication made him a nuisance to the whole saloon and 
all the passengers in the adjoining cabins. The first even- 
ing, while still a stranger to all on board, I was fortunately 
warned by the noises in his cabin that I had an unpleasant 
neighbour ; but as no keys or bolts are allowed on board 
ship, there seemed no precaution available. I took the 
only possible safeguard by fastening the cord of my trunk 
across the door, and it was well that the idea suggested 
itself; for he wandered out of his cabin in the middle of 
the night, and mistaking the doors on his return, tried 
to open mine, and fell down against it, in a state of help- 
less intoxication. But for my precaution he would have 
fallen into the middle of my cabin — a pleasant predica- 
ment truly for an unprotected lady ! 

After this adventure, of which the captain was 
necessarily informed, I did obtain a key • but the 
unhappy man continued to be a nightly source of anxiety 
and discomfort to every lady on board, and it certainly 
seemed hard that no restraint was put upon his ceaseless 
consumption of intoxicating drinks. The rule at that 
time on the Peninsular and Oriental steamers, was to 
charge an inclusive fare for all, ladies and gentlemen, 
abstainers and drunkards alike, so that sober passengers 
were actually taxed to pay for the indulgence which made 
others a general pest, but this is happily now altered, 
the passage-money being considerably lowered, and wine 
and spirits charged as extras. 

The passage between Alexandria and Malta was a 



340 



OVERLAND HOME AGAIN. 



very rough, one, the third night really awful, the ship 
pitching, rolling, and straining, with tremendous crashes 
at intervals. One of the boats was stove in, and one of 
the hatchways carried away; and we heard afterwards 
of a ship not far from us being driven ashore and 
wrecked, and learned that prayers for those at sea were 
said in the churches of Malta through all that stormy 
night. 

We reached the island early in the morning of the 
fifth day, and went ashore as soon as possible. As far as 
we could judge, it is a bare-looking spot, but Yaletta itself 
is a picturesque town, the streets literal flights of stairs, 
and the houses covered with projecting windows painted 
green. The Cathedral is rich with a costly but not 
impressive magnificence, full of gilding, inlaid floors, and 
huge monuments to the Knights and their Grand 
Masters. After a hurried survey of these, we took one 
of the little open country cars and drove to the Fran- 
ciscan convent, which is remarkable for the custom of 
disinterring the deceased monks after a year's burial, and 
setting them up in niches round the walls, the soil being 
antiseptic in its properties, and causing the corpses to 
assume the character of mummies. They are merely 
clothed in the brown habit of the order, and placed 
upright in the niches, a bar across the front breast high, 
preserving them from falling. It was a strange weird 
sight, the half-lighted passages with the gaunt mummies 
standing round, waiting till the bones should fall apart, 
when they would be consigned to another place. Over 
each is put the date of death, but I did not notice any 
very old. They stood in various attitudes, some with 
hands folded on the breast, others stiffened in less peace- 
ful postures, some leaning forward, with their brown 
shrivelled faces full in view, the teeth painfully prominent 
between the shrunk lips, others almost hidden in the 



ALEXANDKIA TO SOUTHAMPTON. 



341 



coarse hoods of their sackcloth garments; and the monk 
who guided us moved among them stolid and uncon- 
cerned, apparently untouched by any thought of the 
time when he too should stand there, the unconscious 
object of idle curiosity to any passing traveller. 

It was strange to emerge from this charnel house and 
wander through the gay shops of Valetta, rich in curiosi- 
ties, gold and silver filagree work, and lace; but the 
loveliest things we saw that day were the bouquets of 
bright and sweet-scented flowers with which itinerant 
venders beset us in the streets, and which lighted up our 
cabins all the way home. 

From Malta to Gibraltar the weather was beautiful, 
though cold, and so calm that there was little suffering 
from sea sickness. Ships were constantly passing, and 
the coast of Africa was seldom out of view. We reached 
Gibraltar on the eighth day of the voyage, and anchored 
for a few hours. The rock is very grand from the 
Mediterranean approach, rising almost perpendicularly 
from the sea ; but on the harbour side it slopes all the 
way, and winding footpaths lead up to the top. We 
passed a fine rock on the African side, which I supposed 
must be the other pillar of stout old Hercules, but could 
learn no better name for it than Ape's Hill, though I 
have since found that the conjecture was correct. It is 
said to swarm with these animals, and from their occa- 
sional sudden appearance at Gibraltar in great numbers, 
some believe in the existence of a subterranean passage, 
but this appears exceedingly problematical. 

The rest of the voyage was miserable in the extreme, 
cold and very rough; and when at last we neared the 
shores of dear old England, I was the only lady patriotic 
enough to face the bitter wind and drizzling rain that 
greeted our arrival. But it would have needed a deadlier 
chill to freeze the warm current of gratitude and gladness 



342 



OVERLAND HOME AGAIN. 



upspringing at the sight of these longed-for shores, and 
I must leave my readers to picture to themselves the 
home-coming that crowned and ended my " Inland, 
Upland, and Overland " experiences. 

If their record awakens in any heart a deeper feeling 
of gratitude for home mercies and comforts, and a more 
active interest in the condition of our Indian fellow 
subjects, it will not have been written in vain. 

V J 



SIMMONS BOTTEN, PEHfTEBS, SHOE LANE, FLEET SIEEET. 



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